The Return
by crazykittymomma
Summary: AU from my story "Morals." Hiccup is noticing his father's behavior being particularly secretive and peculiar. Hiccup will soon learn why and how this may impact him now. Disclaimer: This may or may not portray a character in a particularly positive way - rating accordingly due to this.
1. Chapter 1

Mr. Vast was having one of "those days."

Actually, rephrase that - one of those weekends.

It was the weekend before a trial. Hiccup could always see the symptoms. He'd arrived home from school on Friday and noticed his father had already cooped himself up in the study. The door was closed already. There was no, "How was your day at school, son?" or "Do you need the car tomorrow?" or, as of late, "Is Astrid coming over this weekend?"

Throughout the week he'd noticed his father hovering more-so than normal. He was home from work when Hiccup arrived home from the school bus and had busied himself with asking Hiccup questions about school unusually more enthusiastic. Mr. Vast was acting as though this was Hiccup's first week at Berk High all over again.

Katherine, his father's girlfriend, had only been over briefly once earlier in the week. She'd had a file for Mr. Vast and had only stayed when Hiccup had asked her if she'd eaten anything yet for dinner. Hiccup had been in the middle of making a large pot of pasta for himself and his father. She stayed just long enough to eat and ask Hiccup how his PT sessions were going.

By Saturday morning his father had already woken up early and shut himself inside his office again. Or, had he even left? Hiccup had been hoping for an opening to ask to borrow the car. He'd almost always had the car for a large fraction of the day on Saturdays since he had his license. When his father was planning trial Hiccup did his best to stay out of his father's way. The Hulk sometimes came out of his father during trial weekends. And, Hiccup did his best not to disrupt him.

Glancing out of the window that morning he realized it would be too wet for him to go hiking. His leg wouldn't have been able to handle the damp ground. He'd already deemed it unsafe for him to go alone. And, let's face it, Astrid wouldn't be awake to go tag along. He never took her along without asking her the day prior - last time he'd asked she hesitated and he didn't want to set himself up for disappointment.

By eleven, his father still had yet to emerge from his lair. Hiccup had barely heard him shuffle inside which caused him to grow rather alarmed. He'd walked onto the porch briefly to see if he could see his father through the window working. The blinds were drawn. At this, he decided to text Katherine to see if she could be used as an anchor to his father. She seemed to know how agitated he became during trial time - however she knew how to handle his father better. At least, that was what it appeared to Hiccup.

11:25 AM - HICCUP - HIGH PROFILE CASE. BEST TO LEAVE YOUR FATHER BE. IF YOU NEED ANYTHING I AM NOT FAR.

For Katherine to be so secretive it had to be serious. Typically, she or his father would tell him what was going on. Whether it be a recent drug raid involving a classmate's family, or a high speed chase that made the news...or something much deeper and darker. His father never shielded him from the evils of the world - not since he was starting middle school. It just wasn't something that he did.

It wasn't like Hiccup was a noisy teenager either. He kept to himself, did his homework, did his chores and did not blast the TV volume. In fact, the television hadn't been on since Thursday evening.

Hiccup abandoned his thoughts for seeing Astrid at all on Saturday. It was too rainy to walk the distance to her house. Fish wasn't far - Hiccup could have gone over to his house for the remainder of the day - But Hiccup decided he'd rather have Astrid's company over Fish - or none at all.

Occupying his time was difficult. Books, homework, drawing and word puzzles were not containing him. He needed to get out - but he knew he needed to respect his father's work time. He'd barely gotten to speak to his father at all during the weekend - the man had only emerged to use the restroom and to go to bed, each time the door was shut behind him shielding Hiccup from speaking to him.

He felt as though his father was ignoring him on purpose. No, he never did ignore him on purpose. His dad - would just become engrossed in work so badly he would forget the world around him in his deep thoughts. Hiccup decided to stay out of his way and leave him be.

Sunday arrived and Hiccup was going stir-crazy. His homework was nearly finished. He'd become distracted staring blankly at the closed door from his work station on the kitchen table. He only had five more Algebra II questions to answer and his homework would be completed. He'd probably would of had it done more than an hour prior had he not become distracted.

Freedom. He needed out of the house. Craved a change of scenery.

In his pocket he squeezed his phone reminding himself that he could just text his father and tell him he was going for a walk. Even around the neighborhood and back would have at least taken the edge off. He just needed to get out. He needed to stretch his legs and work on distance with his newer prosthetic leg. Astrid's house was only a thirty minute walk away - now, that is. Nearly a year ago the walk my have only been fifteen or twenty minutes. Or a nine minute distance run.

She and Hiccup could sit on her porch and talk. He'd welcome helping her with her own math assignment just to get out of the house.

Suddenly, his pocket vibrated. Reaching for his phone, he glanced at its screen.

2:37 PM - BABE, IF I COME AND PICK YOU UP, WOULD YOU WANT TO GO FOR A HIKE?

Seriously? Astrid wanted to go hiking without him asking her?! She loved spending time with him - she always reminded him of this. She dreaded his hikes. Hiccup hadn't asked her as of late, but he had a feeling she didn't want to go because she worried he'd overstay his welcome with his new leg. He had a habit of getting "lost" in the woods. It wasn't long ago they'd taken their first hike together and she nearly scared her to death when a phantom pain came in full force at the very end of their hike.

He needed to learn to take a step back. He didn't have the strength he once did to hike for hours.

Perhaps she could tell he was going stir-crazy. By now, she had picked up on his routine. It wasn't hard to map out. And she knew that he hadn't gotten the car the prior day. He'd indicated to her that his father was working and he'd felt he shouldn't bother his father.

Hiccup had fallen into a horribly semi-strict routine since he was a kid. And, it became even worse after his accident in June. Between the scheduling of doctor's appointments, his visits with the counselor, school, his father's work - he just didn't go hiking on a Sunday afternoon. Especially when the temperature was over seventy before ten in the morning. The ground was probably mush with the heavy rain - but he knew certain areas to avoid. And, Astrid would be with him just in case he needed some help - or even a reminder to take it easy or turn back on the new leg.

Biting his lip, he knew he would have to interrupt his father in his office to ask permission. He'd learned as a child not to interrupt his father's work - and he knew better now than to simply knock on the door to ask a question.

He was losing his mind sitting at home. A hike sounded nice.

Stacking his math homework neatly to the side, he reached for his crutches and went to his room. Changing into a comfortable pair of shorts and a more presentable t-shirt, he grabbed a zip up jacket and threw that on over his shoulders as well. Taking a moment to attach his prosthetic - he suddenly feared what may come of this decision.

He could be getting ready for nothing. But, in the event his father said it was okay to go hang out with Astrid for a little while - he didn't want to give the man time to change his mind. Taking in a deep breath, he stood and headed towards his father's study.

He hesitated for a moment just outside the doorway. He leaned against the wall, trying to muster up the courage to ask the simple question.

The Iphone vibrated again.

2:58 PM - YOU ALL RIGHT?

Astrid had seen he'd read the text.

Not wanting to worry her, he reached up and knocked on the door twice - gently.

"Come in," his father said almost immediately. It was then Hiccup realized he'd been holding his breath. Reaching for the knob, he gently twisted it and opened the door.

Concern washed over the boy when he saw his father looked drained. Bags hung down under his eyes, his hair was sticking up on it's ends. It was obvious that his father had been running his fingers through it - it had been a nervous habit of his for years and had only grown into a vision of how stressed his father was becoming as he worked once his practice grew. He kept a comb in his briefcase for meetings and court cases for this reason. Not only did he look tired and as though he was on end - but his demeanor showed stress and fatigue.

"Dad-" Hiccup couldn't finish. He suddenly felt a bit of guilt at the thought of asking his father if he could leave when he looked like this. Hiccup often worried his father would have a heart attack from the stress in his life. He hadn't expected to find his father this poor off.

His father suddenly gave him a weak smile. "You've been patient all weekend." He let out a breath. "I should have given you the keys Friday to the car -"

Mr. Vast was trailing off, and had made motion to stand.

"Dad - no, I don't - I wasn't going to borrow the car."

He saw his father look at him questionably, and sat back down in his chair.

"What did you need?" His father was speaking so softly, it actually scared Hiccup. Usually his father would have been raging mad about something by this point. It occurred to him then that his father had barely made much of a peep all weekend. A case the way Katherine had described it would have caused him to be raging by now due to the interruption and Hiccup's lingering.

Hiccup scanned the desk and saw very few files were out along it. In fact, Hiccup noted the fireproof box had been brought up from the basement from the safe downstairs. Odd, Hiccup thought. But that was all.

"Hiccup - "

His eyes scanned upwards towards his father.

"I - I, um - Astrid invited me to go for a walk. I was wondering if -"

A weak smile crossed over his father's face.

"Of course," he said. "Katherine was going to come over later for dinner. Are you okay with that? If not, I could - "

"No," Hiccup said. "I don't mind seeing Katherine."

His father smiled again gently. "Would six-thirty be all right? Perhaps I'll order a pizza? Would Astrid want to come for dinner?"

Hiccup paused. "Can I let you know? Like - maybe in an hour or so?"

Mr. Vast nodded. "Sure thing." A pause followed. "Are you sure you don't need the keys?"

"Yes," Hiccup responded. "I'll - walk over." He could see the wonder crossing his father's eyes at the remark, but Mr. Vast didn't question. "I'll be gone in about ten minutes."

Mr. Vast nodded. As Hiccup exited the study his father called to him, "Be careful, have fun."

…

Hiccup didn't let Astrid know he was coming. He'd left the house without texting her to tell her he was walking or that he was on his way. She had offered to pick him up, but he was lost in thought as he rushed to her house. His father's appearance bothered him. Hiccup had seen him stressed over the years - but this looked more serious than usual.

Then, Hiccup was at Astrid's front door. He felt a little bewildered at how abrupt he'd approached the house. Glancing at his phone, he'd made it to her home in about twenty minutes. Surprisingly, on his new prosthetic.

He knocked - she answered, and she looked surprised by his randomness but also perplexed.

"I was getting concerned when you weren't responding," she said to him as they settled themselves into her car ten minutes later. "I offered to come get you and - "

"Sorry -" was all Hiccup said. His mind had been in deep thought since he'd left the house, and he'd been fighting with his own thoughts the whole way there. Something was going on with his dad. He knew it. But - perhaps it was just a case he was working on and the stress level was different than normal.

"Hiccup -" Astrid had been talking to him, attempting to get his attention. He blinked multiple times once she touched his hand as she drove the car down the road, and it wasn't until she did this did he realize he'd been spacing out. She had probably said his name half a dozen times.

"I'm sorry," he said suddenly, adjusting himself in the passenger seat.

"You look troubled," Astrid said to him with concern. She glanced around the back seat of the vehicle realizing then he didn't have his back pack with him. "Hiccup, where's your bag?"

"Just thinking," he said quietly. "I'm sorry - "

Astrid narrowed her eyes at him, but her mind went back to the traffic light they were stopped at.

Hiccup seemed to come back to reality for a moment, seeing her concern. "I'm sorry - Just lost in thought -"

"Stop with the 'I'm sorry's' - Talk to me."

He let a pause pass between them. After three months of being "together" she could read his body language almost as good as he could read his own father's. Of course, she'd had since Kindergarten to notice how he acted during tests, around people, and during any setting in class at school. She knew when he would grow nervous he'd either clam up or use humor to lighten the situation. His nervousness showed on his sleeve. She also had seen him lost in thought when it came down to it.

"Hiccup - you can talk to me."

He sat in the passenger seat and sighed. "It's hard to explain."

"Is your dad having one of his bear raging fits again?" Astrid asked. She'd heard Mr. Vast outside not too long ago yelling while he was working on a file before trial. It had actually made her slightly uneasy being at his home. She had come over unexpectedly and witnessed it. Hiccup had luckily gotten her away before she could witness how bad the tantrums could get.

"Dad is - unusually calm," Hiccup said, coming to the realization. "But - something's up -"

Hiccup road with Astrid in silence until they arrived at the hiking trail he usually took. Even when they pulled in and Astrid parked, he didn't make a motion to get out of the car. He sat in silence staring at nothing in particular. It was as though he was an empty shell.

Astrid sat with him while he thought. Eventually, she turned herself sideways in her seat, curling her legs up to sit comfortably. Leaning her body against it's back, she waited for him to come back to her.

Hiccup sniffled suddenly, bringing her attention to him again. She noted the tears beginning to dwell up in his eyes - but he didn't shed one. His anxiety was worrying her, Hiccup was starting to sense it. Turning to Astrid, he laughed at himself and sighed.

"Sorry," he said with a sigh.

"Stop," Astrid said firmly. "I can tell your situation with your dad is bothering you. That's why you walked to my house - isn't it?"

Hiccup nodded, but turned his eyes away. "I was hoping to have shaken this off before I got to you."

"So you can't shake it off - no biggie."

"Astrid - I haven't seen or talked to you about much since Friday - I shouldn't be bringing my baggage to you."

"Hiccup - it isn't baggage. You don't think I worry about my dad everyday? He's on the SWAT team - he's one of the head detectives. He's worked undercover before. He's been shot at, spit on, punched - He picked me up from school when I was a kid once in a sling, black and blue - he got into a fight with Johnny Torrent's dad in a chase - " She paused.

Hiccup felt guilt wash over him. His father hadn't been involved in shootouts or fist fights. His dad sat at a desk dealing with stress. Astrid's father could any day be taken unexpectedly from a gunshot or a gang of angry drug dealers, or...He trailed off in his mind. His father's stress could cause a heart attack.

"My heart's just fine," his father told him just before Chrstimas. His doctor had ordered a stress test - and Hiccup had felt the blame was on his shoulders. He hadn't exactly been the best kid or the easiest patient when they were dealing with the fall. Adjusting had been difficult, sleep had been lack-there-of, work had been a nightmare at the time…

"Something is troubling my dad," Hiccup said to her. He sighed. "Part of me thinks it's my fault - "

"Hiccup - would you stop?!" Astrid said, raising her voice. "Why do you think it's all our fault? Why do you reach to these conclusions?"

"I don't know, A!" Hiccup said, raising his own voice suddenly to her. The look in her eyes scared him. She seemed hurt. He turned away. He hadn't meant to raise his voice at her.

"I'm sorry." The last thing he wanted was to yell at her for no particular reason at all. Her parents trusted him with her. They'd taken care of each other over the last several months. Some days he felt as though she was taking more care of him than he was her because of the issues he'd been having with his old prosthetic. And, he felt guilty for that. His father somehow had drilled it into his head as a child to respect a woman - despite not having a woman to grow up around most of his life. He'd been taught to respect everyone - but take careful mind on how he spoke and respected a woman.

"Hiccup - what can I do?" Astrid asked quietly. "What can I do to ease your mind?"

"Nothing you can do," he responded. "I'm probably overreacting - over thinking - "

He felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned to look at her.

"Perhaps you should ask him if there's anything you can do to help him?" Astrid said.

"He doesn't want me nosing in private accounts," Hiccup said gently. "Breach of professionalism. Now - doesn't stop him from telling me once it reaches the papers on these cases…"

"All he can do is say 'no'," Astrid said. "C'mon, Hiccup. Clearly, you need this hike! You need to go walk and take your mind off of a few things. You need to go alone - "

This comment threw Hiccup back. "Wait - "

"If there is anything I've learned about you over the last several months - you don't need my help collecting your thoughts. You need to go hike and be alone. Gods know that the walk to my house wouldn't have been enough for you - your thoughts wouldn't have come together worrying about the traffic and people hogging the sidewalks. You need-to-go-hike! Astrid drawled.

Hiccup sighed. "I'd rather take this hike with you, milady."

Astrid sighed. "Hiccup - I'd like to go with you, but I know when I am not needed somewhere - "

"Ouch!" Hiccup said, placing his hand over his chest. A small grin escaped.

She laughed, and leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Please. How about you go hike for an hour and - " She reached into the back of her car, pulling a book out from the back seat. " - I will catch up reading Hamlet - "

"You haven't been reading - have you?" he asked.

"I have been reading - Just not completely understanding the content. Plus, this is so boring to me! You should know this by now."

"How have you passed those quizzes, then?" Hiccup said to her. He paused. "Don't tell me you haven't been passing them - "

"I take really good notes!" Astrid said. "Now, don't worry about me! I am just looking for citations for my book report. It'll take me a little while. I'll be right here."

"Astrid - "

She reached into her center console and pulled out a pair of cheap headphones. "Thor knows you probably didn't grab your's, right? I mean, you forgot your bag."

He grimaced at the realization.

"Hiccup, just go!" she said with a laugh, punching his arm. "Set a timer for an hour - will be here, okay?"

After a few more pushing words, Hiccup exited the car and headed towards the woods. However, he caught Astrid off guard by knocking on her window a moment later. She had already become engrossed into her book.

Rolling her window down, she huffed at him. "What now?"

"I won't be going too far in - not with the new leg and the rain - Dad wouldn't want me to go in anyways alone."

"Hiccup -" He could tell Astrid hadn't completely considered this. She appeared a little torn. They both knew he needed some time alone.

"I won't go far," he said officially. "If you don't see me in an hour, come fine me, okay?"

"Don't think that grimly," Astrid said. "If you aren't back at the car in about an hour I will come drag your rear to the car, okay? Do you know which trail you are taking? Please tell me - not the one with the hill -"

Her expression caused him to laugh. He could only imagine she having to come track him down again. Shaking his head he replied, "I'll take the west path."

"Whew!" Astrid said.

"Now who's jumping to ahead?"

She playfully hit the side of his arm with her book. "You are losing hiking time, go."

He still remained at the car.

"Dinner with my dad and Katherine tonight? Six-thirty?"

Astrid seemed to stumble over her words. "I-um-yeah. That's fine."

"Good," Hiccup replied. "Maybe play some euchre?"

She nodded. "I'll make sure my dad and mom are okay with it. I can't see why they wouldn't unless they plan on going over and seeing Grandma later."

"Okay, I'll let dad know to plan for you coming over just in case -" He kissed her on the cheek and headed towards the woods, cell phone in hand. It was obvious to Astrid that he was confirming with his father what her answer was.

Glancing back to her book, she paid no mind to the small black hatchback that had pulled into the parking lot a few minutes after they had. The woman in the car parked only three spaces away. Her passenger window had been rolled down. She'd glanced at Astrid for a little while, then decided to get out of the car. She slung her pack over her shoulder and headed towards the woods.

...

**By now you can probably draw up to your own conclusion as to where this story is heading. I am still trying to figure out the reasoning behind the "absence" - if that makes any sense to you. I do not want to portray her as being a negative impact on Hiccup because that is far from what I want. I love this character soooo incredibly much. However, this is a AU and there are many factors as to why people disappear. So, I am currently working on this. So, please be warned depending on what direction I go with this story - it may or may not portray Valka as the character she is in everyone's eyes. **


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER - Hopefully you enjoyed the previous chapter. Again, I am just for-warning my readers that this may or may not place Valka in a positive manner, so I chose my rating a little more mature than my typical ratings. I am not sure how this will follow - I have been debating on this for some time in my AU setting. And, even though I have the base narrowed down I am not sure what the "reason" will be that Valka has been gone from Hiccup's life and why she is returning now.**

**...**

Hiccup was sitting on a bench only about half a mile into his hike. Internally, he was fit to be tied. He was beginning to understand why his father sometimes would burst out in anger for no apparent reason. His father was holding back his stress. Now, Hiccup was sitting on the bench, his one good leg shaking to take the edge away from his anxiety.

He'd only managed to make his way on the western path just a little farther ahead than where he remained sitting. He'd turned back around when he noticed the pain suddenly radiating from his leg. It was clear after a few more steps a couple of screws in his prosthetic had somehow loosened up. Continuing on would have been a horrible idea. So, he'd turned around and relieved to know a bench to rest on wasn't far behind.

However, when he sat down to inspect the damage, despite the compression sock his stump had grown very raw already due to the severity of the rubbing. After pulling out his phone there was no cell phone signal to call out. He'd spent easily the last twenty minutes trying to get a text to send to Astrid asking her to come and help get him back to the car - however his dozen attempts had proven to be shortcoming.

His mind had jumped to the worse cases possible. Eventually, Astrid would become worried when he wouldn't show back up to the car and come looking for him. More than likely, she would contact his father to let him know Hiccup hadn't returned. And, he could just hear his father's booming voice scolding him for not pushing Astrid to come with him on this hike - especially with the newer prosthetic.

"I knew better," he said with a sigh. Just two weeks ago the doctor had shown Hiccup all the tricks to the leg model to help avoid incidents such as the one at hand. The first model had broken Hiccup in - more than once he'd become frustrated dealing with the first because he couldn't get it adjusted depending on the shoe he would be wearing. Eventually, he decided to stick with a basic pair of tennis shoes until he could get through the rough patches of adjusting to the prosthetic. He rarely had to tinker with the proper settings and leveling of the leg.

However, his doctor had been trying to enforce him to learn how to properly adjust this one. And, up until this point Hiccup had been doing just fine.

Until he'd neglected to bring his back pack when he'd known he was going on a hike. Despite Astrid pushing him to go alone and they both having a plan B in the event something went wrong - Hiccup hadn't prepared for this. He had left feeling confident they had worked out the emergency plan.

He didn't actually think they would be using it.

He was plagued with how his lack of planning could spread som unnecessary panic to she and his father - Especially his father.

Wrapping his arms around his gut, trying to resist the urge to vomit due to his anxiety, he bounced his leg impatiently. Glancing at the clock, he figured Astrid would be coming soon to look for him. He tried to not focus on the bad, but tried to focus on the fact he was okay. It could have been worse than what it was.

Suddenly, his leg gave a horrible jolt of pain, and he reached forward to remove the prosthetic officially. He figured he would need it on to head back down the hill with Astrid. Now, he knew he couldn't just sit there with it on. His stump needed a break.

As he separated his leg from it's extension, he was suddenly aware of footsteps coming from the southern part of the trail. He felt hope when he realized it could be Astrid coming to find him. But, felt panic when he realized it was a woman coming up the trail towards him.

Without hesitation, he slipped his stump back into his prosthetic - and it growled so angrily he couldn't help but wince.

His muffled noises apparently caught the woman's attention, because suddenly she was close and was asking in a very quiet voice: "Is everything o-okay?"

Her hesitation immediately caused Hiccup to draw conclusions that she was mortified to see him with the prosthetic. Despite himself growing used to the staring at school from his peers, meeting strangers who would stare at his leg more out of curiosity than rudeness still threw him off. He was already self-conscious enough - however he once had someone grow queasy at the park when he had sat down once to try to adjust his shoe.

Reluctantly, he glanced up and met her face. She was a pretty woman, and he gaged her to be around his father's age with her crows feet starting on the sides of her eyes. She had light brown hair pulled back in a braid similar to how Astrid wore her own. She looked at him with concern and he could tell she was hesitating to approach.

"I'm sorry -" he said, finding his voice. "Just - Just having an issue with the leg." He felt his chest tightening and he forced himself to take in a few calming breaths. He tried to give her a reassuring smile.

"Is there - " The woman seemed to hesitate, and Hiccup detected her feet shuffling nervously as though she was debating on whether or not to offer help. "Can I help you with anything?"

Hiccup went to shake his head, but sighed in defeat. He held back a wince as another wave hit on his stump. He resisted the urge to just throw the contraption away - one less thing to worry about.

"Um - not with this," he said nervously. "Um - " Suddenly, he felt a laugh escape him. There he went - trying to lighten the situation. He was thinking in his head what to say to avoid making even more of a fool of himself. "Sorry - I should have known - I knew better -"

Hearing her feet shift again, she approached a little more cautiously. He knew she was studying him and perhaps trying to figure out how she could help.

"Is - is your friend driving the white SUV?"

Oh, good. She was making a connection despite his incompetence.

"Yes - "

"We aren't far from the parking lot. I could take you - I could go get her for you."

Hiccup gave a weak smile. "I'm sorry - would you please?"

Before he could say another word to the woman she was on her way downward on the bath. He signed with relief knowing that she was no longer staring at him but also because she said she was going to go tell Astrid.

His stump raged suddenly, and he could feel sweat beading up on his forehead and neck. If he had to rate the pain, it was probably a four at the moment. He really needed to get home and let is soak in the warmth of the bathtub. He just hoped he hadn't flared it up enough to cause a horrible phantom pain. If he had he knew he'd be asleep shortly after arriving back at home because of the medication he would need to take.

He remained on the bench another fifteen minutes and suddenly began to grow concerned. It wouldn't have taken the woman this long to reach Astrid. And, Astrid could run. He figured by now Astrid would have been at his side trying to help him back down the hill.

Without the prosthetic being on the pain in his leg was easing. But, he felt so helpless waiting for her. Perhaps he'd misjudged the woman. Maybe she didn't move quite as quickly as he'd anticipated.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps again and glancing towards his left he saw Astrid walking at a brisk pace up the hill towards him.

"Are you hurt?" she asked suddenly, kneeling down to try to see what was bothering him.

"No - no I'm fine," he breathed, trying to give her a reassuring smile. "Honestly - just lack of planning on my part."

He explained to her what was wrong and why he couldn't continue on his hike.

"Did the woman alarm you?" he asked.

Astrid glanced at him with confusion before she helped him stand, placing his arm around her shoulders and supporting him.

"What woman?" she asked.

"She didn't talk to you?" Hiccup asked.

"No one talked to me," she said.

"A woman found me and said she was going to come let you know in the parking lot," he explained.

Astrid shook her head at him. "I came looking for you on my own - "

The thought of the woman left Hiccup's head then. "You didn't tell my dad I was missing, did you?"

"No," she said defensively. "I didn't see the need to alarm him. Honestly, I thought maybe you'd lost track of time."

He shook his head.

Unfortunately, they couldn't continue on with Hiccup hobbling on one leg even with Astrid's support. He reluctantly slipped his stump back into the prosthetic and had to walk with her support down the uneven pathway towards the SUV. By the time they reached the car, Hiccup was pleading to remove the prosthetic, and Astrid had to help him pull it away from his stump once she'd gotten him settled.

It was now 5:30 - and he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket now that he'd regained cell phone service. Ignoring his text messages and his two voice mails that he heard reach his voice mail box, he pulled on his seat belt.

"Let's get you home," Astrid breathed.

The little hatchback that had been in the lot was no where to be seen.

...

Hiccup moaned as his stump came to rest in the warmth of the bath water. His father wasn't home when they'd arrive, so Astrid took the liberty of drawing up the warm water with some Epson salt to try to sooth his leg. While he sat upright on his bathing chair, Astrid had taken charge at trying to figure out Hiccup's prosthetic. She'd found the Allen Wrench on his bedside table and attempted to straighten the leg out the best she could figure.

Watching her sit on the seat of the commode tinkering with the contraption made him appreciate her a little more - which was hard to fathom. She'd already made herself part of his life simply by being there during the trying times with his condition.

She'd taken him to PT when both his father and Katherine had gotten called into a closed chamber meeting at the court house. She had an interest in studying physical therapy so she'd hung onto every word that Jarrod had been saying to him. Even though the appointment was mainly focused on how his body was adjusting to the new prosthetic and possibly making tweaks she was right there.

"Thank you," Hiccup said suddenly. He had found his voice now that his leg was submerged and he was at home safe.

She nodded to him, giving a weak smile.

"I think I may have fixed the loose spots, but you will probably have to tinker with it a little bit."

"Perhaps tomorrow," he breathed. "I may or may not be on crutches tomorrow."

She frowned at him knowing how much he didn't want to go back to school on crutches. "Perhaps not." She stood up and walked over to take a seat on the bathing seat beside him. She was trying to be positive for him.

He needed her. She kept his mind focused on the good verses the bad. She knew just what he needed - almost exactly when he needed it. Suddenly, he felt worried she knew more about him than he knew about her. He felt like a taker verses a giver.

Suddenly, he noticed she was taking off her shoes and socks, and rolling up her jeans to her knees so that she could join him in the water. He couldn't help but smile, and reached over and turned the water on to heat the water a little more.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before she leaned in against his arm and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"This is nice," she said quietly.

"Not a very fancy date," he said gently.

Then, she shifted and punched his shoulder gently. "You should know by now I don't need fancy."

"Yes - but you deserve fancy."

Suddenly, both their cheeks grew scarlet and she leaned back into his shoulder again.

"Pain subside?" she asked.

"Mmmmm Hmmmm," he replied. "I think we caught it quickly."

"That's good."

He pulled his phone from his pocket and glanced down at it. He was certain his father's absence meant he was getting the pizza for their dinner. His stomach suddenly gave a jerking noise reminding him he hadn't really eaten much that day. He'd let the cereal grow soggy at breakfast.

"Good thing we are eating shortly, huh?" Astrid said. "I'm hungry, too."

"Should you let your folks know you made it over?"

"Already done," Astrid said. "You let me know when you are done here."

He nodded knowing he would probably need her to get his crutches from the bedroom so that he could maneuver for the remainder of the evening.

...

Before Stoick or Katherine had arrived back to the house, Astrid and Hiccup agreed not to tell them what happened to Hiccup in the woods, minus the reason why he was hobbling around on crutches verses his prosthetic. His father or Katherine didn't ask, but he knew he would have to tell his father what happened later that evening. Just the part that he'd forgotten his bag and Astrid needed to help him back down from the path.

When his father and Katherine arrived home with a large pizza, Hiccup was reminded at how worn his father had looked that afternoon. After a shower his father looked more refreshed, but he still harbored the look of an overworked and overstressed thirty-eight year old man.

Thankfully, with Astrid and Katherine around he seemed to have dismissed his stress and enjoyed pizza and a couple of games of euchre before Astrid had to head home for the night. Hiccup walked her out, kissing her gently before bidding her goodbye. Instead of heading inside, he decided to watch her leave from the comfort of the porch swing. The cool breeze felt refreshing, and perhaps sitting in silence in the fresh air would help him calm down and sleep well.

Katherine left shortly there after, leaning down to give him a hug and a quick peck on his cheek, she wished him a good Monday back to school, kissed Stoick and was off into her own car.

Hiccup thought his father would head back inside as soon as she was in her car safely and down the street, Instead, his father lingered, then took a seat on the stone wall of the front porch close to Hiccup.

"Nice evening," his father said gently.

Hiccup agreed.

Silence separated them for a little while. Hiccup could feel his anxiety drawing up again when he noticed his father running his hands nervoulsy through his hair again.

"Hiccup - " he breathed. "I'm sorry if I wasn't really here this weekend. I should have thought to ask you if you needed the keys to the car -"

"Dad, it's okay. It's your car, not mine. You don't need to be mindful on Fridays to offer me the keys."

"True."

Silence hung again, then his father said.

"The case I am working on - it's a custody case," he breathed.

Hiccup felt a little confused. "Doesn't Abigail handle those?"

His father's jaw clenched a little bit. "Typically..."

"It must be a pretty big one if you are handling it instead," Hiccup said softly.

Stoick Vast usually handled the high profile cases. Hiccup knew that his father liked to be the attorney for the defendants who had drug traffic charges, assault charges and even murder charges and so much more. Some days Hiccup thought his father liked handling them because he often believed he could help turn them around. Perhaps eventually they would learn.

However, most of the attorneys in town did not want to be the attorney to these types of people. His father started his career as an attorney as a defense attorney for legal aide - more or less this was what he knew over divorce cases, child support cases and custody. Even the estate cases his father drifted away from those and preferred the handle the delinquents.

"It is a pretty important case," his father said hesitantly. "It's - kinda personal."

"Oh," Hiccup said gently. "Old one, then."

"You could put it that way."

Hiccup wanted some peace. And, his father was making small talk with him.

"Um - son. There may be a few more nights this week like this weekend - just so you know."

Hiccup nodded. "I have PT on Wednesday at 3:15 -"

The look on his father's face told him he'd forgotten.

"I can probably see if Katherine could -"

"No, no, Hiccup - " Suddenly then he saw his father's eyes grow teary. This alarmed Hiccup, and he almost wondered if he'd mistaken the tears for a light in the distance coming on and shining in his father's eyes.

"Dad -"

"Come inside. We can talk in there."

Hiccup didn't move. "Dad, what's going on?"

"Just - well, we can discuss it inside."

"Dad, I - "

"Please, Hiccup. Inside."

Hearing the terrified plea in his father's voice, Hiccup reached for his crutches and headed towards the door. His father held it open for him. Hiccup could feel his hands shaking, and with some hesitation on where to go he headed towards the kitchen. It was typically where he and his father discussed their agenda for the week, the appointments and the possible case schedules.

It was where Hiccup felt most comfortable because depending on what his father wanted to discuss, if he needed to he could flea towards his bedroom quickly and close the door.

He took a seat at the table, and his father went to making a pot of coffee.

Now, it was serious if his father was making coffee at nine at night. It was clear then that his father was on the verge of melting at any point in time. Most likely due to mental and physical exhaustion.

"What's this all about, Dad?" he asked once his father put the coffee containing back into it's proper place.

Mr. Vast took to leaning across the kitchen against the countertop. Hands in his pockets, head down, he breathed.

"I -uh - well, on Thursday Abigail approached me and said she was asked to lunch by a gentleman down at the Gilligan Firm - "

This didn't sounds too out of the ordinary to Hiccup since his father went to lunch with various colleagues and other attorneys in the county to discuss cases. But, he let his father continue.

"When she returned, she informed me that she had assumed this was a single man who shared some common interests with her due to their profession. He's twenty-nine, she's twenty-eight - you get the picture." Mr. Vast took a very shaky breath in. "The gentleman knew that Abigail handled our custody cases in the office. He threw a few questions at her about some of the cases she deals with, and then he threw her off guard."

"What's this got to do with you?" Hiccup asked. He was growing frustrated with the small-talk.

"Well, he asked her what she knew about - our situation."

"Our situation? Like - my accident?"

"That, plus other information."

"Dad, that's our personal business. That's - that's private."

"Easy, there, kiddo," Mr. Vast said. "Abigail knows basics but she picked up very quickly that he was fishing for information. He was very interested on what she knew about your accident his past June. He then presented her with medical records - your medical records."

"Mine!?" Hiccup could feel his face growing very warm due to anger.

"Yes," Mr. Vast breathed.

"How did he get them?" Hiccup asked. "Those are private!"

"Well -" This was when Mr. Vast's eyes flickered again. "There's only a few ways that he could have gotten them. I know how he obtained them."

"How?" Hiccup demanded.

Mr. Vast took in a shaky breath and said, "Hiccup - he obtained them from your mother."

...

**Now, I will say this - I am not exactly sure how all the legally works with court cases, child custody cases, etc. If I am misrepresenting something please do not shame me. It is simply a story. **

**However, I hope you have enjoyed the first two chapters as much as I have enjoyed writing them. I have other ideas but it is too late to begin the next chapter. **

**Please tell me what you think.**


	3. Chapter 3

"Mom?" Hiccup said this in almost a whisper. He was overcome quickly with anger, surprise, some happiness, and then back around to anger very quickly. He felt his stomach lurch a little bit. "Mom?" he said again, more audible this time. Mr. Vast's eyes met his now, and Hiccup could see how edgy his father was now. He hadn't known how Hiccup would react to the news, that was obvious.

Mr. Vast's head hung slightly lower than usual. "Yes, Hiccup." His voice too was distant.

A period of silence hung around them for a moment or so. Hiccup's involuntarily let a moan escape his mouth. He felt like crying - more out of anger than any type of happiness.

He wanted Astrid. And this scared him.

He blinked multiple times realizing something more needed to be said.

"Why would my mother be interested in my medical records?" He noted the twinge of fear. Worry overcame him. He didn't want his father knowing this.

"Well -" His father let out a slow breath. "She's asking for a visitation."

Hiccup's stomach dropped.

"No - "

"Easy, kiddo," his father said, coming to the table. He pulled the chair towards the end of the table so he could sit closer to Hiccup. "She wants to see you -"

"Then why hasn't she just called you or stopped by the house?" Hiccup asked. "Is anything stopping her from just dropping by?"

"No, but - "

"She's been gone since I was five, Dad. I don't want to see her - "

"Deep breath - " Hiccup was now hyperventilating. He felt absolutely sick to his stomach.

"Dad - I don't want to see her -"

"I'm not making you, Hiccup," Mr. Vast said to him. "Unfortunately, it may come down to it that the court forces you to see her - "

"Dad - "

"Hiccup - "

"Why is she going through the courts? What's stopping her from just showing up here?"

Mr. Vast looked defeated. Hiccup could now see the full wear this was causing on his father. The sacks under Mr. Vasts eyes looked much worse than they had that afternoon. The line in his forehead looked more defined.

"Your mother has learned from me, Hiccup. I told her a long time ago if she ever wanted to see you she better come back fighting. Well - she's fighting - and she's pulled in the attorneys."

Hiccup knew that his father had told her this out of both anger and hurt. His father had a habit of creating a wall around himself. If Hiccup had to guess he had done this towards his mother due to - wait, why?

Hiccup really did not know the reason why his mother was out of his life. Why she had actually left to begin with. He only remembered asking his father once over the years why she was not there. His father had given him a simple answer.

She was not there because of Mr. Vast himself.

Hiccup looked back at his father.

"Dad - where has she been?" Hiccup asked.

Mr. Vast sighed, and hesitated. "Hiccup - I don't know where to begin. Obviously, you need to know to understand - honestly Hiccup, I never expected to hear from her. Not while you were still young enough to be forced to deal with the courts."

Hiccup wouldn't turn eighteen until September.

Oh, September.

"Dad - my birthday isn't too far away - "

"Right you are."

"Is it - child support? Was she avoiding all this time because of that? And, now she wants to see me? Or -"

Mr. Vast shook his head. "Hiccup - I never asked her to pay child support. She couldn't afford to. And, she was having her own - ah, issues. I didn't want to stress her over child support. Besides - the money was never the question. She loved you - I knew this."

Anger struck Hiccup over panic.

"If she loved me, then why did I never hear from her or see her since I was five years old? Twelve years later she wants to step back in?"

"Oy," Mr. Vast said, placing his hand up to his forehead, which in turn went to his hair. This was a reminder on how stressed his father had become. "I knew this wouldn't be easy."

Hiccup watched his father collect his thoughts before he continued. The silence ate away at his stomach a little more with each passing second. Swallowing the urge to vomit, he forced himself to be patient.

Then -

"This is the case you've been working on," Hiccup said suddenly, his thoughts coming together. It explained the reason the fire proof box had shown up in his office. Why Katherine had been so secretive, and why his father had basically shut Hiccup out.

Mr. Vast nodded. "Yes. It's consumed me, as a matter of fact."

"Dad - "

"Hiccup - there's no easy way to explain this. And, I don't want you to get the wrong idea about your mother any more than you already have." Mr. Vast sighed. "When you were young your mother made the choice to stay at home and take care of you. You were in and out of the doctor's office due to your premature birth. She struggled keeping her desk job at Mr. Andrew's Chiropractors office due to the absences. I was able to leave work to be with you when you ended up in the hospital with RSV, pneumonia...you get the idea.

"But, there came a time when I was not able to leave work and come stay with you. This was when new cases were rolling in every day, I was at the courthouse for scheduled meetings and trials. It was when the firm started to grow. So, your mom started using her sick time and vacation time. Some days she stayed home when she couldn't - "

Hiccup went to speak but his father placed a hand up to stop him from even starting.

"Hiccup - it's what you do as a parent. You do the best you can. With us not having living relatives close by, any real close friends - it was what she needed to do. Before her boss could let her go she turned in her resignation. I was able to pay the bills. We weren't living as comfortable as I would have liked - but we were managing. So, we discussed it and she decided to stay at home with you with the intentions of going back to work - at some point."

"I'm sorry," Hiccup breathed.

"It isn't your fault," Mr. Vast said to him. "Okay? Do not, please, do not feel guilty."

Hiccup swallowed, now feeling a lump growing inside his throat.

"In the end, your mother left because of me," Mr. Vast said. "It wasn't you, it wasn't - you understand this, correct? - Hiccup -" Receiving a nod in reply, he continued on. "When she chose to stay home with you, I wasn't there. I was gone for work. I was at the office, drowning in my cases. I hired Rhonda to help me part-time with those cases. Eventually - " His father shrugged. "I became too busy to be home for you and your mom. I became a provider more than a husband or a father."

Hiccup saw the tears welling up in his father's eyes.

"Hiccup - I failed you - in multiple ways - "

"No you didn't, Dad," Hiccup said. "You were juggling - I get that. Kinda like how I'm juggling school and track and cross country - well, was." He paused. "Now, I am juggling this." He tapped his left knee. "It's okay."

More silence passed between the two of them.

"Dad - what was the reason she left us?"

Mr. Vast sighed. "Your mother became depressed. The house wasn't clean, I came home a few times and you were still in your play-pin crying. Diaper soggy and sagging. You were hungry. Your - " His father sniffled. "This isn't easy."

The lump grew in Hiccup's throat, and continued to grow inside his gut. He found himself holding his slender stomach and leaning forward wishing for the knot to go away.

"Your mom was a good person, Hiccup. I think she still is a good person. She just - slipped away. Being home alone, having no family and just you and I. And, I was gone. Your mom really needed some adult contact - some girl time. Or, a date out. She and I were too proud to ask for help - until it was too late."

"Dad - where did she go? You told me you weren't sure when I last asked."

Mr. Vast nodded. "Right. Well - her depression became so bad she checked herself into a facility."

Hiccup's stomach dropped again. Chills ran up his spin. His father had been so worried about the pain medication he had been taking when he was recovering, as well as the depression medication he was on. He had been so worried with the combination of the two - they both had been. They'd asked his doctor and his surgeon, and even the nurse practitioner about the combinations.

"There's a history of depression in the family?" Hiccup asked.

Mr. Vast nodded. "Hiccup - when she checked herself out she wasn't herself. I wouldn't let her take you with her. She was leaving. Packed one suitcase and was out the door. She only had a few of your outfits and a teddy bear. I wouldn't let her take you -"

Hiccup suddenly remembered the screaming in the front yard when he was a small boy. He remembered screaming at his parents to stop fighting, remembered his father pulling him behind himself. Then, the police officers arriving...more screaming.

The memory hit him like a train. His head swam, his stomach lurched, and before he could proceed to more he leaned over and vomited where he sat.

"Hiccup!"

The crust of the pizza made him cough and sputter. His nose burned from the pepperoni taste coming up his throat. For a moment he felt as though his forehead might explode.

His father's strong hand was on his backside. All his father could do was sit and wait for his contents to be done coming. It was only four heaves before he felt done, and he sat back up again, not wanting to look at his father's face.

"I'm sorry - "

Feeling hot, Hiccup made the motion to stand up, but his father forced him back into the chair, then went after a towel to clean up. Hiccup wanted to leave. He wanted to go lay down and just fall asleep then and there. The memory came flashing back to him. He mainly remembered the voices and their tones. He remembered a woman taking his hand and leading him into his room to play with his Legos. Her soft voice comforted him. She let him play with her police hat. Another officer, a man, had stood in the hallway while the muffled noises outside continued for what seemed eons. That man had made him feel uneasy, but the woman reassured him that he wasn't someone to be fearful of.

"Dad -" Hiccup breathed. His father had cleaned up the up-chuck for the most part and had thrown the towel into the sink. "Mom didn't come back once she left - did she?"

Mr. Vast sighed. "No, she called. But, she never came back to the house. She took off in the car. She went to Georgia. Florida. Even New York. It took me four years to track her down. She came back to town once. Just to finalize the dissolution. She asked how you were. And, she left."

Hiccup signed. "Why is she back now? Why does she suddenly want to see me?"

Mr. Vast shrugged. "That is something I am not sure about." There was a long pause. "Hiccup, when we signed the dissolution, I never forced her to sign her rights away. She had visitation rights, and was even allowed access to your medical records. That was how she obtained them."

"What days was she allowed visitations?"

Mr. Vast paused. "Why does that matter?"

"It just does," Hiccup said.

After a pause, Mr. Vast replied, "Honestly, anytime she wanted to. Although, I put in every other weekend and Wednesdays. I couldn't do anymore than that since I had full custody."

"She - she didn't fight to keep me?" Hiccup asked.

This caused his father some grief. His bags suddenly looked darker to Hiccup than they had moments before. Hiccup's emotions twinged again, and he regretted asking the question.

"She wanted you, Hiccup. She did. That was why she fought for you in the moment she tried to leave me. But -" Mr. Vast sighed. "She took the savings I had and wiped it. I let her take it without a fight once I realized what she had done. I fought for you - we both did that day."

"But you won - " With each comment or question he could visibly see his father becoming emotional - Hulk raging emotional like he did when he was preparing for a trial but, and not offended either. Just hurt or surprised.

"No one won that day, Hiccup. It was a rough situation. Eventually, she realized that you were better off at home. She didn't know where she was going or who she was going to run into. She has ten thousand dollars and her suit case."

Hiccup sat at his chair for a moment, his elbow supporting his torso to stay upright. Suddenly, he felt his father's hand on his forehead.

"You're sweating - "

"I'll make it," Hiccup breathed.

"I'm sorry," Mr. Vast said. "I'd hoped she would have come sooner to see you - or perhaps when you were able to decide."

Hiccup nodded. "So - where do we go from here?"

His father eyed him questionably.

"You said she has gotten the courts involved. What is the next step?"

Mr. Vast swallowed. "I'm honestly just waiting to be subpoenaed in. You won't need to be there - not yet - if at all. Unless - unless you really want to see her?"

Hiccup sighed loudly, and he suddenly felt as though he were swimming. He was mentally and physically exhausted.

"I don't know what I want right now, Dad. I'm sorry - "

"Stop saying you are sorry!" Mr. Vast said with a slightly raised voice. "Why do you keep apologizing for something you can't control?"

"Dad, I - "

"You can't help how you feel, Hiccup. Frankly, I don't know how I'd feel if I was sitting in your seat. I had both parents at home growing up. You - you've only had me a majority of your life."

"How are you feeling, Dad?" Hiccup asked him suddenly. This surprised Mr. Vast, he could tell.

He felt his father eye him questionably for a moment, then his father let out a held breath, then reach for Hiccup's crutches, pushing Hiccup to stand up and use them.

"I want you to go lay down," he said. "How's your stomach?"

"Still queasy."

"Again, I want you to go lay down. It's getting late. How about you get your things together for school tomorrow once you settled down a bit? Let me get a few things done in the office, and - and we can talk a little bit more?"

Hiccup sighed, but agreed. He could feel his father's eyes studying him as he made his way towards his bedroom. Typically, he didn't close the door behind him when he was in his room. He never felt the need to except at night. He always left it cracked to keep the light from the bathroom. Tonight, he felt the need for a little more privacy.

He collapsed on his bed and laid down. His stump still twinged but his mind was now distracted from the tenderness. Instead, he reached for his cell phone on his nightstand, and went to text Astrid.

But, he couldn't. He wanted to tell her what was going on so badly, but it would be the most horrible text message to send. He was having a hard time keeping is thoughts straight as it was. How could he have placed something like that into a text message?

He reached for a half empty bottle of water on his nightstand and took a few sips to drown out the vomit taste. He wanted to go to sleep, but his mind was going into too many directions to.

Instead of getting his clothes and books ready, he remained curled up in his bed. He was trying to process the information his father had given him. He still knew very little, but it was more than he knew yesterday.

Growing up he had accepted he was a motherless, only child. It didn't bother him as much as it may have bothered other kids. He didn't remember calling out for his mom when she first left. He remembered some confusion as to why she wasn't there. Eventually, he just accepted that she wasn't there.

Mother's Day was somewhat awkward at school, especially when he was in his early elementary school years. As a class they would make gifts for their mothers, usually hand prints or foot prints of paint on paper, cards, pictures of themselves as stick figures that they could draw and color on. He had participated, but not in the same manner the rest of the class had. He simply would write his name.

Luckily by about the fourth grade he hadn't been forced into coloring or crafting for his lack-there-of-Mom. Very few people asked about his mom. The track and cross country runners rarely saw his father to generate questions about where his mom was. Out of sight, out of mind was how Hiccup thought of it. While they would sit with the team, he sometimes envied Jake Vickerson who had four younger siblings. One particular younger sister absolutely adored him. When he wasn't competing she was attached at his hip. With Aurora around, the team made sure to be on their best behavior.

Jake had a large family. Hiccup didn't.

But, he had learned to be content.

When Katherine had started coming around - he despised her. Mainly because she was employed by his father. He assumed it would cause issues for the rest of the employees. Unless there were issues and Hiccup didn't know about, the office seemed to be running smoothly. Katherine had been a good change in both he and his father's life.

Katherine wasn't his mom - but she was there if she needed him.

Suddenly, he felt the urge to call Katherine and talk to her. But, he didn't want his father to know he was wanting to talk to her. Having another perspective on his would be good - especially if he really wanted to check and see how his father actually was holding up. His father looked rabid. And, Hiccup still felt bad even though it was not his fault - and he knew this.

Sighing, he tossed his phone with force to the foot of the bed and leaned back against his pillow.

Sleep. He just wanted to sleep.

...

**So, before I start the next chapter I want to share something.**

**I walked away and re-read this before I posted this chapter. I have been delivered a large family-bombshell myself at this age. Long story short - how Hiccup reacted was how I reacted - minus the actual vomiting. I felt like vomiting for days simply from the mental stress and the shock I had. I experienced the knots in my stomach and throat, the mental exhaustion, fatigue and the enormous aray of questions that buzzed through my head for hours, days and even months after I found out a "family secret." I wanted to portray this into Hiccup.**

**I think Hiccup is taking it much better than I would have - and did. But, obviously he is still struggling with what he should think, how he should feel, etc.**

**I hope you liked this chapter. I was a fun and emotional write.**


	4. Chapter 4

Hiccup apparently did not wake up when his father peaked in to check on him periodically throughout the night. At one point, Mr. Vast pulled the comforter over his son's torso, turned off the light, and moved his phone to it's cable charger on the nightstand. Before he left the room, he turned off all of Hiccup's alarms on his phone. He figured Hiccup waking up on his own accord verses the blare of the phone would be best. He was considering keeping Hiccup home from school again if he didn't get a decent night of rest.

He realized he was treating Hiccup much like a broken piece of stained glass art, trying to save it from completely shattering into multiple pieces. He'd been treating him like this since he'd fallen and had spent over a week in the hospital. The kid couldn't catch a break anymore.

It occurred to Mr. Vast that he was treating Hiccup much like he'd treated Valka all those years ago. Hovering, watching every move that was made, monitoring the good days and bad days.

Valka would send him out the door to work and try to fight through her mental shutdowns on her own - but always struggled. Some days she would be awake and oblivious to Hiccup crying, or she would be asleep on the couch or their bedroom at four, five, six o'clock in the evening. If she had woken up to do anything for herself or for Hiccup throughout the day, Stoick couldn't have been able to tell.

The first few times Stoick didn't think about it much. Especially when it was obvious Valka had been dealing with adjusting to being at home permanently.

After hiring Rhonda he tried to stay at home more. He would let her handle the phone calls in the office and he would spend his afternoons the following day trying to play catch up with clients. The mornings seemed to have been the worst for Valka. She would just be getting Hiccup out of bed, and right when she was trying to feed him or change him Stoick would have been walking out the front door.

So, he tried to stay behind those early mornings. He was trying to help her adjust. Just because he was working and Valka was staying home to take care of the home and their child didn't mean that he couldn't keep helping her when he could. He didn't want her to feel alone.

Eventually, six months after hiring RHonda, he had to hire Benjamin into the firm. He was fresh out of law school but he became a sort of apprentice to him. He learned under Stoick and he was able to take on tasks that Stoick didn't have time to do himself. Hiring Benjamin was a blessing - for the first three months. Then, work started to pick up again - which was both a blessing and a curse. More money, more working hours. Less time to help Valka and be there for his little family.

Before Mr. Vast knew it, he was sinking. And fast. He was trying to manage home life with Valka and Hiccup, and manage his firm that was growing. He considered asking Valka to come help answer phones part-time to get her out of the house. But, he didn't want to do that to her. The firm was his baby after all. He would manage.

Then the day came when Valka had left the house without Hiccup. She had gone to the grocery store to gather items for dinner. Stoick had arrived home to find Hiccup in his crib, thankfully still asleep, and no Valka anywhere. He called her on her cell phone after he went through a moment of panic. She sounded chipper and talkative. She had been excited to make them beef stew for dinner.

"Val - Hiccup was at home alone…." Stoick said to her.

Instantly, Valka fell into a crying fit on the phone. Thankfully when he explained he was home with Hiccup and that he was fine did she calm down a little bit.

This was when Stoick felt the need to keep a much closer eye on his wife. When she said that she had actually forgotten he was home and asleep, he kind of understood how she could go about her time, and perhaps relapse into the newly wed stage. Without a child at her feet, she could go about her day making preparations for their dinner, go shopping without a screaming child, and do what once was before Hiccup had been born.

It was at this point that their marriage started to collapse, and Valka's mental health started to deteriorate. She was becoming forgetful, and would sleep more and more. Eventually, Stoick hired a babysitter for Hiccup twice a week hoping it would give his wife some time to herself to clean, read a book, or go do something without having to worry about Hiccup.

"You need some time to yourself," he told her when he informed her of the plans. "I understand that."

For almost two years their marriage was touch and go. Stoick felt as though he had been walking on eggshells with her. He loved her, he loved that she was his son's mother. He'd loved her since they were fourteen and hadn't looked back since then.

The day came when Valka called him from the mental health facility parking lot. She had dropped Hiccup off at the babysitters and had called Stoick crying from the car. She informed him that she was checking herself in.

"I woke up today and realized I'd hit rock bottom."

It wasn't two weeks later they had been arguing on their front porch. More then three police cruisers had responded to the scene. Four of the six officers knew him simply by helping them with their wills, representing someone the officers had arrested for DUI or assault, or simply helping them write their wills.

Hiccup had been distracted while they argued verbally. They both wept together on the steps. He'd begged her to stay - or to allow him to drive her back to the mental health facility.

Instead, he gave up. Valka was wanting to leave. She was wanting to escape. She had wanted to take Hiccup with her and there was only one reason she had wanted to -

"What mother leaves her son?" She had said to Stoick.

He had responded back. "You do. To keep him safe."

He asked her to leave if she wouldn't accept the help she needed. And, when she freely left - he let her. He asked her to check in with him or call him if she needed any type of help. Someone to talk to, more money to get her by. She called rarely. When she did call it was a relief to him. He wanted to know she was all right.

Thinking she would come back one day soon and just be - okay. Or, realize she couldn't do it on her own. That she needed Stoick to take her hand and lead her down the correct path. He had tried to that day on the porch. But, he knew that he couldn't force her. He would be there when she was ready to come home...

It was a year later he decided that he needed to stop waiting for her and start fully living again. Even if he wasn't seeing anyone or dating anyone. He felt guilty over the several months prior for helping other women with their divorces - some he'd actually gone to school with. Most of them knew that Valka had mentally lost herself. He had still worn the wedding band that whole time.

It took him a long time to track her down. She had ended up in Georgia working at a diner, renting a small one bedroom apartment. When she was in Florida she had stayed with a distant cousin on her mother's side - the closet thing she had ever had to family since both her parents had passed away.

When he caught up with her in New York, he found out she was a managing a grocery store and doing decent for herself. She'd taken herself back to school, had found a nice two bedroom home to rent and was even starting to see someone.

This had hurt him. He was glad that she had collected herself - he'd just wished she had done this and come back home.

She wanted to know how Hiccup was, and Stoick relayed very little to her. Not because he didn't want to tell her - but because he really didn't know his son. Outside of Hiccup asking for sketching materials, and the fact that he enjoyed hiking and was a really good student - he didn't know how Hiccup was really feeling. Valka became short tempered with him following this conversation.

And he replied, "You aren't here. If you were here you could get to know him yourself. If you aren't going to be here for Hiccup, then let's get this over with."

So, Valka returned on a paid plane ticket to finalize the dissolution. If she hadn't the court would have proceeded without her present. She agreed to all of Stoick's conditions. She hadn't fully read what they were - and at the time she didn't really care what he wanted. She knew he wanted her name off of the house. She had known he didn't want her to pay child support - instead he would be paying her a very small amount to help support herself. He would not provide her health insurance, continue making her car payments for her, etc. etc.

In court when the judge read off that Valka had visitation rights - she'd whimpered. Outside once it was over, she had caught him outside before he was able to get into his car. She asked him why he'd offered her the right to visit him.

"He's still your son. And, you still deserve to see him."

With that he had walked away.

Valka only called him one other time, a few months following the official separation. Stoick had declined her call because he was knee-deep in a meeting with a client. He hadn't called her back - and she never called him back.

Now, here he was eight years following their divorce dealing with her wanting to see Hiccup. In all honesty, he was shocked that she had gone directly through the courts and not Stoick himself.

His anger management issues came on shortly after their divorce. He'd done his best to hold it together with Hiccup. As his business grew, his mind became so focused on taking care of work and clients, and providing for his son.

He was a provider most of all. Yes, he was a father - but he had been absent from Hiccup's life so much. He'd missed track and cross country meets more times than he was there. And, when he was, he wasn't completely there. He was busy texting his employees or talking to some of his more seasoned clients. Hiccup knew these things - but rarely did the kid grow angry or frustrated with him.

Hiccup carried a lot of weight on his shoulders, and Stoick knew this. Only when Hiccup had gone through the changes he'd been through with the accident did Stoick really step in. And, even then he knew he wasn't consistent like he should have been.

Now, Hiccup was facing this mental struggle with Valka. There wouldn't have been any hiding it from him. Stoick would of had to tell him at some point. Stoick had spent the better part of five days mauling his thoughts and feelings over before he told Hiccup. Mentally and physically he too was exhausted.

He wasn't going to sleep well again that night. In fact, he'd gotten out of bed four times by two in the morning to check on Hiccup. Each time, he could see his son had changed positions. He wasn't sleeping well. And, when Hiccup was stressed he often regressed back into having night terrors. It had been a few months since his last one - when he had to deal with a bit of rejection from Astrid's mother plus the school being on top of him for his spotty attendance.

After checking on Hiccup this last time, he'd made himself at home on the living room couch. The living room felt less lonely compared to his bedroom. Katherine couldn't stay - as much as he'd wanted her to. He hadn't asked her but they both knew having the conversation with Hiccup without her around was best.

A very uneasy sleep finally came to him.

…

Hiccup had woken up from a nightmare. But, he'd resisted the urge to call out into the night. His chest heaved as he tried to stop himself from hyperventilating. He could feel the sweat caking his body underneath his clothing.

Half away, he stripped his shirt off and tossed it to the floor, allowing the coolness of the sheets to touch his bare skin. Even though he shook as he laid awake, his panic was dying. He couldn't explain why but it was.

Feeling more alert, he turned over and glanced at the digital clock on his desk. It was just after three in the morning. He sighed with relief. Another two hours of steady sleep would have been nice. Although, he knew it would be a restless slumber.

He heard footsteps in the hallway. Great, his father was up. And most likely coming to check on him.

The door creeped open slightly, and he could feel the tall shadow of his father looking in on him.

It wasn't a moment later, he let himself come clean. He sat up in bed so his father knew he was awake.

"You all right?" Hiccup asked him.

"I - I am. I was wondering the same thing about you."

Hiccup rested himself against his pillows and awaited his father to join him on the bed. Sure enough, his father did, and reached to turn on the side lamp so that they could see each other better.

Mr. Vast was studying him intently. Hiccup wasn't used to his - still. Over the last several months his father hovered around him when he was having a "bad day." Even on his bad days, if his father was distracted with a case, Hiccup managed to get through.

That was what he did when his father was absent most of the time.

The nightmares were the worst part of it all. Usually his nightmares came with a phantom pain - which currently he was relieved that it hadn't. When this happened, he wanted his dad.

At a few points during his early stages of recovery, when he'd been dealing with the pain and the unknown - he wished he'd had a mother there with him. His father was there - able to comfort him the best he could. But, Hiccup wondered if he'd been able to cry without guilt if his mother had been there. He'd forced himself to stay as strong as he could simply because that was the persona of his father.

And he wanted to make his father proud of him.

"Dad - " Hiccup broke the silence.

"Yes?"

"I - I honestly don't remember what my mother looked like."

His father seemed alarmed. "Really?"

"It's not like we have her photographs hanging up anymore. Or, a family picture. I mean - I can't even remember the sound of her voice - "

Mr. Vast paused.

"Do you remember anything about her?"

Hiccup strained his memory to come up with something...anything. Anything was better than nothing.

"I remember you bringing her daisies once."

Surprisingly, his father smiled ever so slightly.

"Gerber daisies, actually. She had seen them in a catalog before we were married and wanted them in our wedding. Although, she settled on white roses instead because the florists in town couldn't find them anywhere."

Hiccup watched his father mull a little bit over thoughts of the past.

"She liked pasta, preferred vegetables over meat. She loved that toothless cat, too."

Hiccup sighed. "I think that's all I have of her. And, I don't even know if that means anything."

"Do you want something of her's?" Mr. Vast asked. "Hiccup - if you've been wanting something - I'm sorry, I - "

"No! No, Dad! That's not what I meant." Hiccup breathed out a sigh. "I'm just trying to sort through this in my own head. Part of me wonders if she'd be proud of me - or ashamed - "

"How could she not be proud of you, Hiccup?" His father's voice sounded agasped, and even angry.

"Well, I never really did well at sports, so I ran and -"

"You remember that place up on the hill at the park, right?" Mr. Vast said. "Hiccup, she loved, and I mean loved to hike. You both share that."

Hiccup gave his father a weak smile.

"Dad, can I ask you a personal question?"

"Of course!"

It took Hiccup a moment to consider how he wanted to phrase his question. There really was no way around it - or no simpler way to put it.

"What does Katherine think of all of this?"

The question surprised him.

"Katherine - well. She's worried about us both. She knew this would take a toll on you mentally."

"Is she worried you'll have a heart attack like I am?"

Mr. Vast laughed slightly. "No, Hiccup. She's more so worried that for a brief period of time - I may lose you."

The last four words hit Hiccup in the chest. He hadn't thought about his mother taking him from his father - even for the remaining six months before he'd come of age.

"Don't worry about that, Hiccup. Courts take your side and wants into consideration. That is - if you choose to speak in court."

The look on Hiccup's face when he said this must have alarmed his father just as much as the words alarmed him.

"Easy, there. You just stop worrying about this, okay? Let me handle the courts." He placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "Trust me, Hiccup. Let me handle it."

Without warning, Hiccup leaned forward into his father's chest. A sudden overwhelming panic filled him and began to consume him. His breath caught and he struggled to catch it in a few gasps of air. Feeling his father's arms wrap around him, he tried to focus on the warmth and the touch to remind him he wasn't alone.

"Did you take your medication today?"

Hiccup nodded. He hadn't forgotten to.

"Okay," he replied. "I just wondered."

A moment passed by.

"Dad," Hiccup said into his father's chest.

"Yes?"

"Is Katherine okay? Is she worried what may come of this?"

"Of course she is. Why do you keep asking about Katherine?"

Hiccup swallowed. "Because she's been more of a mom to me in the last several months. And, I don't want her to get hurt."

"Oh, son, she will be fine." He felt his father's arms squeeze him a little bit more.

Minutes trickled by, and eventually his father pushed him back against his pillows. "You are still sweating like mad."

"I'll be okay. Just emotional is all."

Mr. Vast sighed. "How about a change of clothes and a cup of warm tea with honey?"

"Dad, its four in the morning - "

"Hasn't stopped us before, has it?"

Hiccup laughed. "No, no I guess it hasn't."


	5. Chapter 5

It was 7:30 and Hiccup was in a frenzy. With all of the unwanted excitement the previous evening he had forgotten to finish his Math assignment. Luckily, he only had a few questions to finish. Hunched over his book and paper, he worked the problems carefully. Gods, it felt like a Math test from Valhalla. His head ached from the lack of sleep, and he couldn't keep focused to complete one problem without becoming distracted.

At first the thumping of footsteps increasing the hallway distracted him. Then, someone accidentally tripping over his crutches, nearly causing said person to fall right on top of him. Even after he murmured "Sorry" he had received a dirty look from the boyfriend of the girl who tripped over them. To be truthful, she wasn't watching where she was walking. And, Hiccup practically had himself and the crutches pinned against his supporting wall. Then, it was the booming voice of the assistant principal hollering at a few wayward teens who had apparent stolen a roll of toilet paper from the bathroom and started flinging it around the neighboring hallway.

"Uggg," escaped Hiccup's mouth when he completed the last problem. He didn't even care if they were right. He didn't go back and recheck it. For once in his life, he didn't care. Just as long as he deemed it 'done,' that would have to do for today.

His face buried in his hands, he welcomed the moment of darkness just to regroup himself. Even if he was in a busy hallway.

He felt movement beside him, and he smelled lavender. Astrid.

Blinking himself back into reality, he turned to his left and was met with her blue eyes. She gave a weak smile, but it left as soon as she registered his outward appearance.

"You- you look awful!"

"Gee, thanks," he said dryly.

"No - I mean - I am sorry," she stammered. He knew she was concerned that he'd been up all night dealing with the pain throbbing in his leg from the hike.

"No," he sighed. "I'm sorry - just a long night."

"How much sleep did you get?" she asked.

"Obviously, not enough," he said, cuddling his math book against his chest. He could feel himself crumbling suddenly, but blinked, snapping himself back to reality. He turned to her, and the smell of lavender crossed his nose again. Her hair was damp and pulled into a long braid over her shoulder. He was not used to seeing her wearing her glasses, but she looked pretty just the same. She was dressed in a nice blouse with a thin, spring sweater that did not button. She looked so pretty.

He wanted to tell her about his bombshell - but then was not the time. He knew this. He needed easily an hour of her time. It would have to wait until later that evening. That is, if they had time that evening to spend together.

While he helped himself up to stand, without he asking, she packed his math book up into his backpack for him. Silently, they walked down the hallway towards his first class. The students were buzzing around, unusually more active than they had been as of late for a Monday. Hiccup decided it had to be because the weather was getting nicer, and perhaps everyone else was going stir-crazy just as much as he felt.

Astrid stopped just outside the doorway of his classroom and turned to look at him. She sighed, and reached her hand up to smooth his unruly banks to the side a bit. Gods, her touch felt amazing. He felt himself leaning into the palm of her hand, and for a moment he could feel tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

"Hiccup - "

He'd bee caught, and he blinked them back a bit. Astrid eyes looked at him intently.

"What's wrong?" she asked him.

He gave a weak smile, and went to speak, but his breath caught in his throat. He recovered.

"Can - Can we talk later today?"

"You know this - lunch - "

"No," he breathed. "Can we go for a drive?"

She eyed him curiously. "I have track practice after school."

He knew this. After-all, he'd been on the team once before. Since sixth grade up until this year. Their teammates asked him to come back but he knew it wouldn't be any good right now. His stump still wasn't strong enough to withstand that kind of intensity.

"Afterwards then?" He thought he managed to blink the water away finally.

She nodded. "Want me to come pick you up from home?"

He shook his head. "No - " The bell rang in their ears, indicating it was time to head towards classrooms. " - I'll wait around."

She nodded to him, and turned away, the look on her face told him she didn't want to leave him alone like this.

"I'll see you at lunch," he breathed. He leaned in, kissed her cheek, and turned away before he could hold her up more.

...

The morning dragged on. Each period seemed to feel as though the time had doubled. Hiccup mentally cursed himself for his lack of sleep, wishing his mind would have shut down. He was having a difficult time paying attention in his classes. He felt the teachers eyeing him more-so than usual. Of course, there were days he felt that they were simply because of what had happened to him the previous summer. His therapist had told him before that most of it was in his imagination, his overthinking mind playing tricks on him. But - he couldn't help it.

The students still stared. They did less after the first few weeks he'd been able to wear his prosthetic to school. He'd been able to blend in easier once he'd been cleared to wear it more. Days like today, when the leg was not attached and replaced with a set of crutches, he received curious stares. He'd let everyone make their own thoughts about him. He'd tried to train himself to block out their stares, and also not think about their illusive thoughts about his situation. Depending on how good of a day he was having, this had gotten easier over time.

He'd caught his mind wondering more than once during class. He'd muffled out the voice of his teachers as they lectured, hearing the "Wha-wha-wha" like the adults in Charlie Brown. Blinking rapidly a few times, he forced himself to stay awake.

During lunch, he and Astrid met in the art room. Surprisingly, Fish hadn't come sit at their table with them. A text to him and a response back proved he'd stayed at home from school that day, apparently fighting the flu bug that had been going around.

After they laid out their lunch, Astrid sliding him a piece of her grandmother's homemade chocolate cake, she sighed and said, "Now, what's troubling you?"

Hiccup sighed, and shook his head. He was expecting this.

"Not here, please." At this, he was unable to meet her eyes.

She rolled her eyes, annoyed he wouldn't talk about it, but dropped the subject.

By the time he made it to his final class, English, he was an internal basket case. Eventually, he registered his knee bouncing up and down, a visual of how he was feeling inside. Finally, the bell rang, and he moved to put his books away into his book bag. He heard someone approach, and he looked up to see who it was.

Snotlout was standing there, giving him an awkward smile.

"Hi, Hiccup," he said.

"Um - hey, Snotlout," he said, faking a smile. The guy has been Hiccup's biggest bully. Lately, he'd been friendlier towards Hiccup, but not exactly his best friend at all. They nodded to each other when they'd pass in the hallways now, Astrid would wave at him when they were passing to be friendly. The guy was still doing community service from the accident a few months ago that he'd had with Astrid.

In all honesty, he really needed to appreciate Snotlout a little bit more. After all, because of his stupidity, the event was the full reason why Astrid and he were even dating. The one, mess-filled night had brought she and him together. The last few months had been the best days for Hiccup.

"Can I get your bag for you?" Snoutlout asked him. Immediately the words clearly pained the boy's face, and Hiccup couldn't help but laugh a little. "Stop it!"

"I'm sorry, Snotlout," Hiccup said. "Came across to me a little too nice. Is there something you wanted to talk about?"

Mr. Bryce had looked up from his stack of papers on his desk. The man knew Snotlout and Hiccup had a history together.

"Um - no. I was wondering - could you tutor me on the lesson a bit?"

Hiccup felt surprise wash over him. The adrenaline rush felt as though it sucked out a large chunk of his internally battery.

"Come again?"

"Here - " Snotlout said, and he grabbed the top of Hiccup's bag and motioned towards the door. "Let's walk and talk, I know you need to catch your bus."

Even Mr. Bryce glanced over at Hiccup at this gesture, and Hiccup nodded to him, indicating he was all right. The man always looked as though the wolves had beaten him up prior to chewing him and spitting him out by the end of the day. His glasses were a little eschew, and Hiccup felt a little guilty seeing the little bits of the teacher's own energy waiting at the sidelines for possibly being tapped in to a fight.

"Have a good evening, Mr. Bryce," Hiccup said to him as he positioned himself on his crutches.

"You boys do the same," Mr. Bryce replied, his tone somewhat low. Hiccup could tell he was keeping his eye on Snotlout.

Hiccup followed Snotlout down the hallway before finally catching up to him towards the end.

"So - what do you need help with regarding 'Wuthering Heights?" Hiccup asked him gently.

Snotlout turned to him and grunted.

"I don't need help," he said coldly.

Hiccup felt his face scrunch up in misunderstanding. "Wait, then why -"

"I was asked to give this to you," he said gently, holding out an envelope towards him. "Please, don't read it here."

Hiccup felt absolutely confused. "Um - "

"Just take it!" Snotlout said urgently, shoving it towards him. With that, he dropped the back pack onto the floor, and slumped away.

Hiccup blinked multiple times in shock. He couldn't comprehend what had just happened. Glancing down at the envelope in his hand, the outside of it said "Hiccup Vast" in pretty, loopy cursive. Hiccup wanted to open the mystery envelope then, but thought better of it. He needed to go to his locker and exchange his books. Situating himself with his backpack, he headed towards his locker.

The mystery envelope burned in the corner of his mouth as he headed towards the exit. Astrid had slipped him the keys to her SUV at lunch so that he could make himself comfortable inside the car while he waited for her to get done with track practice. He decided to throw his crutches and bag into the back while he climbed into the passenger side.

He felt as though he'd been holding his breath. Letting it out slowly, he stuck his finger into the fold and ripped the top off. He could see a paper folded up inside. Pulling it out gently, he realized that a photograph had been enclosed as it slipped from the paper back into the envelope.

The photograph became more important to see suddenly, and he pulled it from the envelope to see what it was.

The photograph was older, and the edges were a little worn from being handled, perhaps shuffled around inside someone's drawer...or a suitcase. Hiccup recognized a younger version of his father, his red hair cut short, his tie loosely hanging over his shoulders. He was leaning over a hospital bed, smiling from ear to ear at the camera. A woman was sitting upright, holding a small bundle wrapped in a blanket. Her hair was a little frizzy, and her braid was untidy. The little bundle she was holding was that of a small baby, tubes leading from the small bundle.

Hiccup studied the picture, and could sense his heart was racing. The small bundle was him. He'd spend weeks in the hospital after his birth. He hadn't exactly known the details, but he could see that he'd been on oxygen and an apparent IV or a feeding tube since there was another tube leading from the bundle that led to another machine.

Hiccup's eyes went to rest on the imagine of his mother. She had a very kind smile, and even friendlier eyes.

Why would Snotlout have this in his possession?

His attention was drawn back to the envelope letter in his hands. With shaky fingers, he opened the letter up to read:

_To Hiccup:_

_I've started hundreds of letters over the past several years. But, I was too much of a coward send them to home. The ones I did finish I have kept selfishly to myself. The ones that went unfinished hoard my guilty tears and have disappeared into the mysteries of this world._

_I am sure you have questions that your father cannot answer, that you cannot wrap your head around. My son, I never meant to leave you this long. Over the years, it was easier to know you were safe and happy than to come back and start down the already beaten path. I dreamed to come down that pathway towards you, hoping to fix those bumps over the years that I have created, that life threw at you over the years. Whether it be because of a bully at school, or the thought of your father working too hard that he missed out on one of your baseball games...I don't even know if you enjoy baseball...or growing up without your mother that you may or may not care to be there for you. _

_I was the weak one, Hiccup. I couldn't fight my way through the depression to properly take care of you. I wanted to, but I simply couldn't. Nothing I do now will take back the past. And, by this point I am sure you are aware that I have come back to Berk. If you are not, well - I am sorry you are finding out this way._

_I have been back for roughly a week at this point. I have driven past the house hoping to get a glimps of the young man I carried. I know I shouldn't have been that close to the house - but I have longed to see you._

_The last thing I want to do is take your father to court - and drag you into the court room in a feeble attempt to force my way into your life. Your father may or may not know this yet, but I am backing away. I realize that right now, again, it is easier to stay away than to start down the broken road towards you. _

_I want you to know that I love you. I always will. Someday, honey, I hope that we will be able to see each other. There is nothing in this world that I want more than to catch up with you, see how you've groan, and _

Hiccup turned the letter over, but there was no more. He narrowed his eyes in confusion, and check the envelope again for the next page. But, there was no more.

More questions than answers came to Hiccup's mind. Suddenly, he felt the tears coming to his eyes. He was at his breaking point. The lack of sleep and confusion was catching up on him. His fuse was growing a little short, and he needed to force himself to calm down before he could continue to think clearly.

With shaking hands, he reached into his pocket for his cell phone and called his father, hoping he would answer.

Surprisingly, he did.

"Hey, kiddo - "

"Dad - "

He knew his father picked up on the shakiness in his voice simply hearing that one word. Hiccup suddenly remembered how he sounded when he was talking to his father when he was in the hospital - all doped up on Morphine to help with the pain, wanting his father to be there when he felt scared and alone.

"Hiccup - what's wrong?"

"Well - " Hiccup was squeezing the letter in his sweaty hand tightly. "I - I think Mom was writing me a letter."

"Wait - you think she was?"

"Yeah - Snotlout gave it to me at school and - "

"Hold on, hold on - did I hear you say Snotlout gave you the letter?"

"Yes."

"And - wait, Hiccup, what sort of letter?"

"It's just - my mother, I guess. She started a letter to me, apologizing for her being gone - and - it's not even a full letter. There's this picture that she had in it and - "

"What picture?"

Hiccup could hear the desperation in his father's voice now.

"A picture of - of our family at the hospital. Maybe - the day I was born - I don't know." This prompted Hiccup to turn the photograph over to see if there was a date on it. Sure enough, the date just days after Hiccup was born. "Yeah - it's when I was born."

"Hiccup, where are you?" Mr. Vast asked.

"Sitting in Astrid's car, and - "

"You aren't at home?"

"No - I'm at the school."

"Why are you at the school?" The rise in his father's voice was noted.

"I'm waiting on Astrid to get done with track."

"Did you miss your bus?"

Hiccup felt somewhat angry. He'd text his father shortly after asking Astrid if they could meet up after school. His father hadn't responded, but had read the text. And, at least he did tell his father what he was doing.

"I told you what I was going after school - "

"Hiccup, I want you to go home after school unless we discuss this prior. Now, you wait wherever you are - I am coming to pick you up."

"Dad - "

"No!" Mr. Vast said. "Don't move. I am on my way to get you."

With that, Hiccup hung up the phone and tossed it to the neighboring seat. He felt angry, hurt, and more alone than he had in the last several months.


	6. Chapter 6

Hiccup felt edgy watching his father from his seat at the kitchen table. His father stood at the kitchen counter top reading and re-reading the partial letter from Hiccup's mother. Mr. Vast touched the picture multiple times, looking at the date on its white back, and then studying the image on its front for a long while.

The left jean pocket vibrated when a text from Astrid came in. Hiccup knew it was her. She'd probably just gotten to the car from track practice and was looking for him, only finding the keys in the ignition. He hadn't been able to send a text message to her before his father showed up and took him away, practically lecturing him and steaming the whole ride home. Hiccup hadn't dared to pull his phone out to tell her where he was. He quickly pulled out his phone and read the text.

4:47 PM - WHERE ARE YOU AT?

4:48 PM - DAD CAME.

That was all he said before placing the phone face down on the table.

Finally, his father picked up the letter and the photograph and crossed the kitchen floor towards the table. He pulled the seat out with his foot, and finally took a seat across from Hiccup.

"Your mom - " Mr. Vast froze a moment. "She - I -" Hiccup could see the pain his his father's eyes building up. His chest tore with emotion, but Hiccup didn't want to move. He held his breath. "Your mom I know has always cared about you - " his father breathed. "Even though she wasn't here to show - "

"Dad, why would Snotlout give this to me?" Hiccup asked him. "It is from her, right? It isn't a trick?"

Hiccup assumed the reason why his father was looking over both items so with so much detail he because he didn't understand why either. However, when Hiccup met his father's eyes again, they didn't seem confused or searching for answers to questions.

"I had suspicions as to where your mom was staying at. I had assumed a hotel at first. Although, knowing that Snotlout gave this to you, I wouldn't be surprised if she was staying at the Jorgenson home..." Mr. Vast trailed off for a moment.

"What does that mean?" Hiccup asked.

"Mr. Jorgenson, Spitelout, is actually your mother's half brother."

Hiccup felt his stomach come to his chest at the realization he actually did have living relatives. "How - "

"It's a long story that I can't remember completely," Mr. Vast admitted.

"You never thought to say anything to me while I was growing up?"

"What do you mean, Hic -"

"Snotlout was the one who got into that accident with Astrid! He was the one that bullied me, tormented me since I was in the second grade - You don't remember the guy and his goons chasing me home from the park in fourth grade?"

Mr. Vast placed a hand up towards Hiccup. "I remember, yes. I haven't forgotten. Spitelout and I had a long discussion about that after that incident."

Hiccup suddenly remembered something. He remembered the fist fight his father almost had with Snotlout's dad when the man came to collect his son from the police car that day. After Spitelout and his friends had broken two windows in the house before the neighbors called the cops on them.

"That day, were you guys fighting because of Snotlout - or were you fighting because of Mom?"

His father's eyes suddenly became glassy.

"Maybe a little bit of both. Spitelout was mad at me for not forcing your mom to stay in the institution she placed herself into. Mad at me for not making sure you and Snotlout grew up together since you both were so close in age. But - life didn't hand us the magic lemons, Hiccup. It just didn't work out the way we wished it would have..."

"Why were you so paranoid that I didn't ride the bus home?"

The words fell out of his mouth before he could stop them. He wanted to know. His father didn't give him a good explanation why earlier.

"I was afraid your mother might - try to take you again. And - may put you in harm's way. Like she almost did year ago - "

"Dad - I'm seventeen years old. Do you really think Mom is going to take me as though I am five?"

Their eyes meeting, Hiccup suddenly saw the reality behind the look. Reminding himself that his father was on a short fuse emotionally, he paused. Who knew what his father was thinking? Who knew how his mother would react? Then he remembered the letter.

"Mom said she was backing down," Hiccup responded.

Mr. Vast shook his head. "That's your mom. She gets super up and then crashes."

Hiccup narrowed his eyes. "Dad, that was, like, more than ten years ago. You don't think she's changed?"

"I'm sure she has," Mr. Vast said to him. "I have. You've changed - you've grown up. But - I don't want to take the chance of losing you. Hiccup, what if I can't find you if she does?"

"You don't think I'd put up a good fight?" Hiccup asked him. "I might only have a leg and a half - but I'd put up a fight."

"Would you, though?" Mr. Vast said. "What if you simply sat down in the car to talk to her and she just took off driving? Would you jump from a car moving at seventy an hour?"

Hiccup hadn't considered this. Of course, his father had experienced and worked multiple cases. Something told him his father had represented a man or woman who did this with their own flesh before. How else would have thought of this himself?

"Hiccup - I don't want you to think I don't want you seeing your mom," Mr. Vast said. "Just - I want you to want to see her. I want you and she to meet in mutual territory. And, I would prefer to not lose you in court - " Hiccup heard the small choke catch in his father's throat. The tears hadn't fallen, but he heard the emotion more than break through.

"Now," Mr. Vast said after a pause. "I have a case I need to work on. But - do you have anything that you want to ask? Anything you need to know? I don't just - want to leave you alone without addressing anything you may have questions over."

Hiccup thought for a moment but nothing they hadn't already discussed came to mind. He'd need to mull over his own thoughts for a while. Instead he asked, "May I go sit on the porch and do my homework - or sketch?"

"Yes."

"And - if Astrid wants to come over, can she?"

Mr. Vast nodded. "I'll be in my office, then." And with that, Hiccup watched his father pick up the letter and the photograph. He went to step away, then paused. Instead, he gently placed the letter and the picture back in front of Hiccup. "In case you want to keep these -" A small smile stretched over his face. "You know - I forgot how little you really were until I saw this picture again."

Hiccup touched the corner gingerly. "I've never seen a hospital photograph of myself as a baby."

"This may have been the only one we had taken," Mr. Vast replied. "It was a trying time - the day you were born. You were so little, and very sick - He paused and looked at the healthy seventeen year old sitting in the chair beside him. After giving his shoulder a quick squeeze, he left the room and shut himself in his office.

...

Hiccup rested against the porch swing with his sketchbook and headphones. The soft piano and violin music echoed into his ears, and he found himself just focusing on the music than anything else. He was thankful for the peace. He needed it. The school day and the excitement both physically and mentally drained him. Between the issue of trying to focus on his studies and also the emotional turmoil he was experiencing - he felt again like a jumbled mental mess.

He'd managed to calm Astrid down with a few text messages. He'd asked her to go home and focus on her homework even though he'd wanted to see her and tell her what was going on. It was in her best interest to go home and focus on herself rather than focus on him.

6:01 PM - ARE YOU SURE YOU ARE ALL RIGHT?

6:02 PM - ASTRID - I AM FINE. PROMISE. OXOX

The three times he promised her he was all right and at home hadn't been enough to explain - he knew this. She knew his father was a little - hard at times. Very caring but hard. And - what he wished was what he wanted for Hiccup. Somehow, she'd understood over the months they'd gotten to know each other and had spent together.

Laying down on the swing, he stuck his good leg towards the ground, pushing himself back and forth slowly. His eyes focused on the roof of the porch as he glided back and forth, rocking himself. Feeling his eyes fluttering, he listed deeply to the piano solo, and somehow sleep engulfed him.

...

"Hiccup - Hiccup," he heard his father in his ear almost instantly. The bud had been removed in the left. The wooden slats in the swing were digging into his boney backside. He noted the pain starting in his bad knee from the angle. He sighed. Getting up was gonna be rough.

He felt his father's hand slip into his own, and his father slowly helped him sit up.

"What time is it?" Hiccup asked, blinking his eyes so they would adjust.

"Almost nine - I wondered where you'd gone."

"I promised I wasn't going far."

"I know. I just didn't expect you to be out here this long."

Hiccup knew his father probably became lost in a work project. He most likely wouldn't have noticed Hiccup was "missing" until he searched his bedroom, the kitchen and the living room. The last place for him to check would have been the shower before he would check outside.

"Astrid's been looking for you."

Hiccup rubbed the small of his back, massaging the knots from sleeping on the slats. "I told her I was fine."

"She's worried." Apparently, for his father to know this, she had been texting or calling him. Hiccup had no choice but to try and talk to her.

"Of course she is," Hiccup sighed, but gave a weak laugh. "Gods love her."

"I have some work to catch up on but I wanted to make sure you were okay," Mr. Vast responded, ignoring Hiccup's comment. "Do you need help getting back inside?"

Shaking his head, Hiccup smiled slightly. "Thanks, Dad. If it's okay, I'd like to stay out here and watch the traffic go by."

"It's late."

"It's nice out. And, let's face it. You probably won't let me go hiking until this whole matter is over and settled. Am I right?"

Mr. Vast sighed loudly, and let his shoulder's slump. "You are probably right."

Hiccup let out a breath, then turned to face the street. Just as he had, Astrid was pulling up across the street and parking. Hiccup felt his chest tighten. He knew his father saw her as well.

"You know - earlier I was ready to tell her. She knew something was wrong. But - now, I don't know if I'm in the mood, too." Hiccup groaned.

"You don't have to tell her anything," Mr. Vast said to him. "If you don't want to."

"She's only here because she cares," Hiccup responded with a smile. "Quite frankly, Dad, I need that in my life."

Mr. Vast placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "I know you do."

Astrid was on the porch a moment later, looking at Hiccup with concern. Then, to Mr. Vast. They both gave her a soft smile before Hiccup stood up stiffly, walked towards her. Placing an arm around her shoulder he said, "C'mon inside. I'll pour us a glass of tea."

...

Astrid sat next to Hiccup on the couch. He'd presented the letter to her to read, and while she read he removed the prosthetic, watching her eyes scan the letter intently. When she turned to look back at him, her hand rested on the photograph. He'd expected her to be in shock. They'd had conversations about his mother in the past. Not long ones considering there had never been much to talk about. Just that she was there and then, "poof" she wasn't. The teary look in her eyes was concerning. Perhaps it was the anxiety of it all that made her appear worried.

"What does this mean?" she asked him.

"Well - " he began. "Easiest way to put it is - I really don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" she asked.

"My mother apparently is known to - go from one extreme to the next. Dad's worried she may snatch me up and take me on one hand. On the other - she writes this and says she is backing away. I really don't know."

"Hiccup, she's here in the city. She's a short few miles from you - somewhere in the town. Aren't you curious?"

"Of course I am," he replied simply. "But - " He paused. Clearly she had been expecting more than just a simple straight forward answer from him. "Astrid, I've already had my little episodes with this with Dad. Now that I've slept off my lack of sleep from last night - and talked to Dad about the letter and the photograph - I'm not getting worked up."

She looked at him, studying him. "This morning you looked like you'd been hit by a truck."

"Eh - I still feel like I did," he said with a small laugh, my hand going to the small of my back again to rub the small knot again. "I'm sorry I didn't get to talk to you at all about everything before now."

She sunk into the back of the couch. It was clear she was exhausted from the day as well. Although, she'd had other things to worry about.

"I'm sorry you drove over here for something I could have told you about over the phone."

"Hiccup, this is a big deal. This isn't something you can really say in a text message or on the phone."

He looked at her.

"Aren't you concerned she's going to just jump out and take you away?"

He shook his head. "I'm not five years old anymore. From how my father describes her she's my size. Not tall, not broad or muscular. Just - just Valka."

Judging by Astrid's body language, she didn't simply agree with what Hiccup was putting down. But, she seemed to decide enough was enough for the night. She slowly reached for her keys to her car.

"I should get home. I told Dad I wouldn't be gone long."

"Your dad?" Hiccup asked.

Astrid had a weak look on her face. "Mom's taking care of Grandma again tonight. Dad's out on patrol. Since I am home alone - he's kinda concerned."

Hiccup frowned. He didn't like the idea of her going home to an empty house. "Katherine - "

"I'll be okay," Astrid said to him, knowing what he was leading up to. She gave him a smile and stood up. "I'll let you know once I make it through the door, okay?"

"And that it's locked, right?" he asked.

She leaned down and kissed his forehead. "Yes, of course."

Giving her hand one last squeeze, he watched her leave the house. He sighed when he heard the door close behind her. Leaning out the window he made sure she hopped into her car safely, then she drove off. For now, she was safe.

Hiccup didn't make it to his bedroom to sleep. Once she text him ten minutes later, he laid himself down on the couch, replied to her text letting her know he knew, and closed his eyes. He was asleep again within moments.

...

Hiccup woke up just before five in the morning. He was under a blanket. He knew his father had made sure to cover him up in the middle of the night. The gesture made him smile.

Despite his dad's crazy dedication to his firm, his clients, and his employees, Hiccup knew his father cared. Over the recent months Hiccup was seeing it more and more. Perhaps it was due to the fact that he'd let Katherine in verses shutting her out. Even now, he wasn't sure why he loathed her so much in the beginning. She was good for his father, good for him, and good for Astrid. She seemed to have been their saving grace as of late.

After attaching his prosthetic to maneuver around, Hiccup's first intention was to go to bed another hour or so. However, due to falling asleep so early, he felt well rested. Instead he decided to shower and get ready for school.

It was too early to remotely think about heading to the bus. He had an hour, and he loved over his syllabuses from all of his classes to make sure he hadn't missed anything. Crap. The five remaining questions for English he'd forgotten to finish. Debating whether or not to do them during lunch, he quickly decided to do them before. After grabbing his English book and a pad of paper, he reached for a banana and went to the front porch.

The air was somewhat crisp but the smell of spring was delightful. He could smell the pollen collecting in the damp air. He longed to be back in the woods again then. The wild flowers would be growing. The birds would be chirping loudly around him in the trees. The squirrels would be playing games on the hiking path. Perhaps he'd come across some deer along the way. He didn't care. He just wanted to be there.

For now, he'd have to settle for the old porch swing. He settled himself down, peeled his banana and began answering his questions that needed completed for Mr. Bryce's assignment. For all he knew, Mr. Bryce may forget about the assignment for the day. He did that on occasion. For Hiccup, since he was in the last class of the day, occasionally Mr. Bryce would be so out of sorts he'd forget on occasion to collect their assignments. But - it was rare and it did happen. He always managed to cover it up with "And just because I didn't collect your papers today doesn't mean I won't tomorrow -" as the bell would ring and people would be jumping up and rushing out the door.

Living on one of the main drags in town, at 6 AM he was use to seeing cars out and about. Nurses heading to work on their shift, people heading north to the big city as they tried to beat rush hour traffic. Sometimes his dad would have been rushing out the door in a panic to be in a different county for court. Nothing out of the ordinary.

After finalizing his five book questions, Hiccup leaned over the side of the porch, tossed his banana peel into the bin, and went to head into the house. Suddenly, he felt his knee buckle and down he went on the porch. Immediately he cursed the prosthetic. His book and paper had flown across the porch, but that was the least of his worries. Turning over he glanced back at his legs.

Somehow, the whole "ankle" part of his prosthetic just broke off. Hiccup felt his heart shatter. Astrid had just tightened the piece just a few days prior because it had been lose. He hadn't noticed any strange wearing since. Feeling the emotions catch in his breath, he reached towards his leg to remove the limb.

"Are you okay?"

The voice scared Hiccup suddenly. The person wasn't but a few feet away from him. Turning towards the street, a pretty middle-aged woman was staring down at him, worry on her face. Hiccup's breath caught in his chest.

His mother.

...

**I apologize for the delay in getting this chapter out to you. With the recent national scare taking place, I have had to make arrangements to work from home, as well as cancel all of my swim activities with my team. To be honest - it's been rough. The whole staying home thing and working isn't troubling me - being away from my kids has been the hardest. My husband is working overtime all weekend long since he is an essential employee. I am happy he has found a job he loves and enjoys, and the company does treat him very well. No complaints at all. Weekends are just hard since I haven't been able to interact with my kiddos. We also have been dealing with the loss of a pet recently. My anxiety is up, my heart hurts, and my mind hasn't been quite so clear as of late.**

**Tonight I tried to get this chapter out to you guys so you knew I was alive. I apologize if it's a mess. It's taken me literally a week to write it. Thank you for being patient and to those who have sent over messages of encouragement to continue. They have not gone unnoticed. Just - life currently.**


	7. Chapter 7

**I have been working on this chapter for the last two days. Re-reading this I want to express some caution. This may trigger. It doesn't talk about abuse. It doesn't talk about hurting someone. But it does touch on mental stability. Valka is a very strong woman character in the series. But, I have taken her to today's time keeping in mind she made the choice to leave Hiccup in the series. She could have always gone back but she didn't. I have often wondered why she chose so much isolation - yes, like he she connected with the dragons. I wanted to write about a modern Hiccup connecting with his mother. In my mind - after going through my own family bombshell as a teenager - it all centered around someones mental stability. In this case, Valka had post-pardum depression. And this did not go away for a long time. **

**Please understand this is why I wrote her like this. And understand this is my own way of getting some thoughts out.**

**...**

Hiccup suddenly felt some real fear bubbling inside his belly and throat. He recognized her.

"...The woman in the woods," he said quietly.

He could see the fear drawing to her eyes, and, like Astrid, she crossed her arms in an attempt to hug and comfort herself. Hiccup noted how pretty she was, and how slender she was. His father was right. He took after her - a lot.

"Hiccup - " she began, but stopped. A sudden look of alarm was in her eyes. She seemed too startled to even move.

His father was at the door, and immediately Hiccup sensed that things weren't going to go so well.

"Get away, Valka!" his father's deep voice roared as he stepped out of the house and over Hiccup.

"Dad - " Hiccup began.

"Stoick - I - "

"He's been with me all this time - and now you want to take him away? The same way you tried all those years ago?"

"No, Stoick, I - "

Hiccup could see the fear in his mother's eyes. She didn't look mean, or evil, or anything close to being a mental patient. She looked - kind. Sincere even. Wait - he was seeing her face from the woods just days prior. She had been following him, he knew that now. But- even then she could have taken him. She could have helped him back to the parking lot and without a proper leg. She could have forced him into the car if she really had wanted to. But, she didn't.

"Dad - " Hiccup said, trying to get his father's attention as he stood practically over him.

"If you think I am going to let you take him, you've got a lot of nerve - you - "

Out of desperation, he found himself pulling on his father's slacks. Just like he'd done as a child. A memory surged back to him. He'd been sick as a child, and running a very high fever during the winter time. And while his father had heated up some soup, he'd tugged as his father's slacks, asking him to pick him up and hold him. His father had been on the phone with a client, Hiccup remembered.

"Lucy, I am sorry but I need to give you a call back. My son is ill. I need to tend to him. Can I reach you sometime this afternoon? Thank you."

His father had scooped him up and held him until the soup was done, had made him a bed on the couch and helped him eat. The thought warmed Hiccup a bit.

"Dad - Dad, please," Hiccup said to him again, pulling on his father's slacks. This stopped his father and he turned to look at Hiccup. "She wasn't trying to take me or hurt me. She - she just wants to help."

Valka's face showed shock. "Here I thought I'd frightened you."

"She wasn't trying to take you?" Mr. Vast asked.

"No, I fell. That's all." He gestured to his prosthetic. "I don't know what happened to it."

His father eyed his mother for a second, then turned towards the leg and bent down to inspect it. Hiccup turned and glanced at his mother in the mean time, who seemed to have needed to take a seat on the steps. She sat on the last one she dared to, and she leaned over to see what Mr. Vast has been inspecting.

"You haven't - done anything to cause it to snap like this, have you?" his father asked gently, now releasing the suction pin from Hiccup's leg to examine it.

"Not at all - the screw became lose the other day - but Astrid fixed it. Hasn't given me issues at all since."

A few moments of awkward silenced passed through them while they watched Mr. Vast inspect the prosthetic. Hiccup caught his mother glancing at each of them, and he could tell she was uncomfortable.

"Well - I think it's shot," Mr. Vast said. "I'll call the prosthetist when they open at eight. In the mean-time - you're stuck on crutches."

For a second, Hiccup felt the wave of annoyance flash through him. Five months ago he'd of loved to have been told he was staying on crutches. He'd disliked his prosthetic then. This one - despite the two recent times it's failed him - he felt more at ease on it. He could move without much of a gait in his step. It was lighter, and it fit better too.

Another wave of awkwardness passed between the three. Hiccup glanced at his father, who was biting the inside of his cheek as he stared in Valka's direction, a look of absence on his face. He could tell his father was mulling over what to say - what to do. His mother, on the other hand, seemed frozen in fear and stress not knowing what to do or how to react. She'd been caught. Her desire to help her son had caused her to get caught up.

"How long have you been watching the house?" Mr. Vast asked suddenly.

His mother winced a little bit. "Uh -" She hesitated.

"The truth, please," Mr. Vast replied gently.

"A - a couple of days." She breathed this out quietly. Hiccup felt as though it was the truth. "I was going to head back to Florida this afternoon. I just - I just wanted to catch a glimpse of him before - before I - "

"Dad, can I stay out here and talk to her?" he asked his father suddenly.

The request seemed to have blown both of his parents away.

"Please," Hiccup breathed. "I think I'll be okay."

"Hiccup, I don't know if that is such a good idea," he said after some hesitation. The elephant around them was heavy. "Just - just not comfortable with that at the moment."

"I won't leave the porch," Hiccup responded. He glanced at his mother. "Right?"

She nodded slowly, still in obvious shell shock that Hiccup had made the request. He could see tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.

The request, he knew, was infuriating his father. Hiccup was actually surprised at how well he'd kept his tone in check after the initial startle.

"Hiccup, we discussed what happened in the past. You know she hired an attorney - Out of my better judgment - "

"Dad - would you rather do this in court or would you rather it happen right here, right now?" Hiccup said. "All she wants to do is talk. She had her chance days ago to take me. She wanted to help me."

"What are you talking about?"

Valka winced. "Ah - well. This isn't the first time he and I have crossed pathways. He saw him while I was hiking. We -" Her eyes weren't connecting with his father's nor his. "We talked briefly when the leg bothered him before. He asked me to go get the girl. I headed in that direction but she was already on her way up the path by the time I made it towards her - "

"You were following him then?" Mr. Vast's voice carried a bit.

"No - no! Honest," Valka responded. "I didn't realize it was Hiccup until I noticed the - " She hesitated. "Until I noticed the leg." She sighed. "I know how it must look, Stoick. But, I promise you. I was only heading up the pathway to clear my head - "

Hiccup felt his stomach drop. That was right. She did hike to clear her mind. His father told him she would disappear for hours at a time - and she was usually in the woods. He took the same paths she used to take. And, that wasn't completely his father's doing. A bit of it was, yes. But, he enjoyed the hikes more-so than his father ever did. Yes, there was a special place his parents shared in the woods. Astrid even liked the spot. But, not enough to go hike with him all the time.

Hiccup blinked quickly, then pushed himself up to sit across from where she sat on the steps. His mother shied back a bit, startled slightly with how close Hiccup was willing to get to her. He turned to his father. "Please. I promise I won't move from this spot." He really wanted to talk to her. Now that she was sitting here in front of him - he really wanted to talk to her. Get to know her. Ask her - why? This was his chance. Perhaps - his only chance.

The look on his father's face told Hiccup he really didn't like his son's decision he was making. But, his father held back. "I'll be inside." Turning to Valka. A twinge of discuss showed on his mouth. "I'd like a word, too, please, when you are both finished."

His father picked up the prosthetic pieces and went storming back into the house. The screen door slammed shut behind him.

A moment passed between Hiccup and his mother before Hiccup made the first move to speak.

"Hi," he breathed.

Valka turned her head and swallowed. "Hi."

This was going to be awkward. More-so than it had been prior. Why couldn't they have just met and talked in the woods? Or, would it have been best to have talked over lunch. At least a plate of food would have distracted them and pushed the strange silence around a bit.

"You were heading back home?" Hiccup asked her.

Valka gave him a small smile and nodded, not meeting his eyes again. "I thought it would have been for the best."

"Why do you say that?" Hiccup asked.

Valka sighed. "Well - I wanted to see you. But, I was afraid you'd reject me." She swallowed and looked away. Hiccup noticed she was sitting sideways on the steps, her knees drawn up to her chest, her arms now wrapped around herself. She was afraid; he could see that.

"I - I can't really say if I would have rejected you or not," Hiccup responded. "I guess it depends on - what you wanted, how you would handle it?" He ran a hand nervously through his hair.

Valka grimaced. "Honestly - there's really no right way or wrong way. I know when you were five, and I was struggling - your father has probably told you about my - mental state?"

Hiccup nodded.

Valka narrowed her eyes at him. "You aren't scared of me?"

"Why would I be?" Hiccup asked. "I mean - I think at first I was. But - you seemed genuine on the hill. You wanted to help - you asked if you could help."

"You are my son - " Valka gulped. "I wanted to help you of course."

Hiccup found comfort in that statement.

"Hiccup - I know your father's probably told you some pretty shocking things - things I did, that he did that I know I am not proud of. Things I know he isn't proud of either."

Hiccup was surprised. She wasn't blaming his father. She was kind of blaming herself more than anything. She was sincere. She wasn't playing mind tricks on him. At least, he didn't feel like she was. Hiccup was a guarded individual - all the year of bullying, especially for the person he know knows as a relative - Snotlout. It took others time to bust down his walls, especially these days. He could feel his mother slowly chiseling away the wall. Barely - but he was open to listen to her and talk to her.

"Dad told me that you've yo-yoed a bit. Up one minute, down the next."

Valka nodded. "I used to have what they called bipolar depression. After some treatment - talking to someone, some medications...It's not like it was years ago. I - I feel better than I had years ago. When you were little - it was shameful to be institutionalized. If someone found about medication you were on for your head, often times people kind of kept their guard up while talking to you. I felt like I had the plague sometimes." She laughed slightly. "Perhaps that was my imagination to some regard."

She was easing up a bit. Now that his father wasn't there she seemed to have calmed. Her shoulders weren't stiff. She had a small smile. He could see that she was in awe with him just studying his features. He felt a warmth flow through him the way she looked at him.

"How long have you felt this - okay?"

"Ah - well, maybe the last four or five years. Since I moved to Florida, started working in a vet clinic. Helping animals. Having a purpose." She paused.

"Was I not your purpose?" Hiccup asked her. The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them. He saw very noticeable tears instantly coming to her eyes. She took a moment.

"You were my purpose for so long," Valka said. "I - I am ashamed to say that at the time - when I was a rocking back and forth between insane and sane, it wasn't. I'd isolated myself. I was sick - and it isn't an excuse by any means. I loved you - but your father was right. I couldn't take care of you properly." Valka had tears sliding down her face. "I left you behind because I knew he was right. There in the end - when I'd calmed down from my manic state..." She trailed off, sniffling slightly, resisting the urge to let the tears fall freely.

Hiccup didn't meet her eyes. He didn't like seeing her cry - he didn't like seeing anyone cry.

"Why have you decided to try to get me - to take custody?" Hiccup asked.

Valka sighed. "I never wanted that, Hiccup. The attorney -" Surprisingly her face contorted to a bit of bitterness. "The attorney I was working with worked me up. Said I wouldn't be able to get just a visitation without trying to get custody. By law, I had rights to visitations. Your father never took those from me - "

"But you were trying to do the proper thing?"

Valka nodded, smiling at his reply. "When I approached the attorney, all I wanted was to go to the courts and ask the judge for a private conference in the chambers with he and your father - and maybe the attorney. I assumed your father would have wanted to represent himself in this - I didn't know. But - at that point it all just spiraled." A small sob escaped her mouth now. She struggled to hold her composure. "I promise you, Hiccup, I didn't mean for this to happen."

Hiccup's father was at the screen door. His presence startled her and she instantly looked away, embarrassed and perhaps scared to be near him. Perhaps upset that he'd interrupted their privacy. In his hand he'd held a single crutch, and he positioned it in front of Hiccup.

"Come on inside," he said gently, turning from each of them. "I'll - I'll make us some coffee and we can talk."

...

The house felt eerily still. Hiccup sat at the kitchen table in his usual seat. Ironically, his mother settled herself instantly in the seat beside where his father usually sat. This seemed - normal to her. Habitual. She didn't miss a beat. He watched her studying the house. He felt a small chuckle ringing inside his lungs. His father had barely changed the decorations at all over the year. They still had the same curtains, now probably faded over the years. The walls were the same color. The interior really could have used an upgrade. The only things that were probably different were the appliances. They'd just replaced the stove a few years ago, and every two to three years his father would wear out his coffee maker and go buy himself another cheap one from Walmart in the twenty or thirty dollar range.

His father fumbled clumsily around the kitchen, pouring water into the coffee maker then spilling half of it on the counter. After beginning the coffee, he moved into the fridge, where he pulled out the orange juice and a glass, pouring it successfully and placed the glass down in front of Hiccup.

"Do you still take creamer?" Mr. Vast asked Valka.

She nodded gently, and he sat the creamer down on the table.

Silenced passed through the room for a bit while Mr. Vast moved around the kitchen. Hiccup could sense that his father was shaky and nervous.

Finally, the coffee was finished, and his father placed a cup down for Valka at the table. Surprisingly, his father also took his seat next to her. Hiccup couldn't help but stare at them. He couldn't remember a time seeing his parents close in person. Yes, their wedding photographs that he'd seen, and bits and pieces of tattered memories that we so vague he thought he'd made it up. But, here they were in the flesh.

"Now," Mr. Vast said gently. He turned to Valka. "Did I hear you say you were going back to Florida?"

She nodded, holding her hands against her warm mug. Hiccup noticed she wasn't wearing a ring on her hand, and this surprised him. He'd thought his father said she'd been dating or had been married.

"I - I thought it best to just go home," she said. "I didn't want to disrupt your lives - I mean, I knew I would with the request to see Hiccup. But - I by no means wanted to take him from you, Stoick."

"Why now?" he asked. "Why not when he was ten, eleven, twelve?"

She sighed. "I just -" She paused. "I've gone to therapy religiously for the last few years. The therapy started after I stayed - in a ward for a two weeks. I found the right help, finally. But, I realized even on my good days that I wouldn't be able to be there for Hiccup. Not correctly." She paused, and Hiccup could tell she was on the verge of collapsing emotionally. "I honestly got better. They dismissed me a year ago. They checked on me for a week at a time, then a month, then they stopped calling me six months ago. I - I decided I wanted to see my son. But, I wanted to do it in a way that didn't just create me walking right into the house and saying 'Here I am -'"

Mr. Vast looked at her, and Hiccup was surprised to see his expression was soft. "You - you really were trying to do the right thing?"

Valka gave a weak, tearful smile to him. "I was. I didn't want to uproot you." She turned to Hiccup, extending her hand out to him, but let is stop halfway in the middle of the table. Hiccup could tell she wanted to reach out and touch him. He wasn't ready for that. Her face looked sad. "When I talked to the attorney -" Suddenly, she looked angry. "He said you'd gotten into an accident - told me a tall tail of what happened."

Hiccup swallowed. "He worked you up."

"I went to the hotel angry. I called Spitelout in a panic - I admit I almost lost myself. He calmed me down just enough for me to realize what happened was an accident."

"Did he really know what happened?" Mr. Vast asked her.

"He thought a car accident - cancer - "

Hiccup laughed slightly causing the mood to change in the room. "Everyone thinks I got cancer. It was my own stupidity! I was up on the roof of the house sketching. I lost my footing on the ladder - I came down wrong and - " He trailed off. "It was my fault. Not cancer - not Dad's -"

Valka nodded. "It took me time to calm down. I was talking to the attorney everyday. The day I saw you - my heart changed."

Hiccup cocked his head. "In the woods?"

She nodded. "This wasn't your father's fault. Honestly - I was angry at myself for not being there for you at the time." The tears started welling up in her eyes and suddenly they were falling. "I should have been here to watch over you!" Her hands were at her face, and she couldn't hold the dam up anymore.

...


	8. Chapter 8

**Authors note: As stated in the previous chapter there is mentionings of mental struggles with depression so if this is a trigger please keep this in mind. I've had some mental struggles of my own, and Hiccup has too considering the bullying and the complete lifestyle flip he had to go through to get to this point. **

**... **

To Hiccup's surprise, his father's hand outstretched to his mother, placing a hand on her forearms, giving it a gentle squeeze. Hiccup studied his father's face then. His father looked compassionate. His worry lines were showing around his eyes and on his forehead. Hiccup rarely saw them except while he worked. No, his father was concerned for Valka - Hiccup had seen the look when he was down for the count. He'd even seen them showing just an hour previously on the porch when he'd fallen.

Wait - the bus! Hiccup glanced at the clock and realized the bus was long gone. And - school was just about to start. He went to say something to his father - but hesitated. He couldn't ruin this. Outside of his mother's sobs, and her gasps in breath trying to hold them back, he'd never pictured a calm reunion - especially after the stress he'd seen his father going through the week prior.

Glancing back at his father, his father was glancing at the clock, too, a worried look on his face.

"Eh - Val - Hiccup should really be at school - "

Hiccup felt his heart sink. His father was right - he should have been. Hiccup had already been in trouble with the counselors and the principal already this year - not because he was a bad student, and not because he caused trouble at the school. It was mainly due to his attendance. There was a strict attendance policy at the school - and he had more than surpassed that. It had taken a lot of convincing for them to allow him to remain at the school just a few months prior.

"Uh - Dad," he breathed. "Don't I have an appointment that needs to be made?"

His father narrowed his eyes at him.

"Like - for my prosthetic? I am sure they are going to want to look at the leg."

"Hiccup - you are perfectly able to function without - "

"Dad - please." Hiccup found himself borderline begging.

His father's head flopped dramatically. "Very well. I'll go make the appointment, then." With that he rose. "And, I suppose call the school to let them know you will need to miss. Your principal will have my neck again."

Hiccup gave him a grin. "Right now - that's the least of my worries."

"My head?"

Hiccup caught a small chuckle coming from his mother as she reached for a tissue in her pocket and wiped away the tears on one side of her face.

...

Three had retreated to the porch after Mr. Vast called Hiccup's prosthetist. They had an availability at 12:30 so they were going to slip Hiccup in. Hiccup could feel his mother watching him closely as he made his way from one spot to another on his crutches.

"Did you - have any questions about it?" Hiccup asked her, startling her from staring.

"I'm sorry - I - "

"It's okay," he said to her. "Most people look at it. Trying to understand it. I've gotten used to it, especially at the school."

Valka's eyes flashed sadly as she took a seat on the stone wall of the porch as Hiccup settled on the porch swing. His father handed him his glass of juice he'd carried out for him.

"That couldn't have been easy."

Hiccup shrugged. "It wasn't. Truth is - without - " Hiccup paused. He wasn't ready to talk about Astrid with her. Their relationship felt - well. It was special. It wasn't something he was comfortable talking to most about. Katherine, yes. His father, yes. Her dad, yes. Her mom -ehhhh, not so much even still. He had a feeling his mother would enjoy hearing their story. But he wasn't sure he was ready to dive deep into it. He glanced to his father hoping for a change of subject.

"Val - eh, Hiccup had some struggles. There was a reason more than the fact that, yes he should really be in school - Hiccup's missed a lot of school as of late." The expression on his father's face changed as he stood leaning against the stone porch pillar some eight feet away. He hid it into his coffee cup for a minute. "I - I am sure your attorney provided you with how much school he's missed this year. And - your private investigator."

Hiccup felt his stomach lurch suddenly. "You've had someone watching us?"

Valka's face showed pure panic. "Like I said - the attorney enraged me. I've let them both go - you should know that."

"What all did this person tell you about me?" Hiccup asked. He felt more violated than he had when he found out his mother had gotten a hold of his medical records. He should have know that she had gotten a hold of his school records as well.

"Nothing - "

The cloud nine feeling was leaving Hiccup suddenly, replacing his awe with a heavy stone-like object into his abdoman.

"Hiccup - easy - " His father apparently recognized the look on Hiccup's face. Pure panic. This snapped Hiccup back a bit.

Valka sighed, and placed her coffee mug down beside her. "Boys - I know Hiccup struggled a bit over the last year, really. But - I also know of the good things. Like - NHS."

Hiccup met her eyes again.

"And - making it to regionals in track and cross country. I also know he excels in English and Math. And that he was recently entered into a writing contest by Mr. Bryce."

She was making it too personal at this point. Hiccup felt another fit of rage and warmth wash over him. He took in a few breaths to calm himself. After-all, he'd asked for this. More time with her. He reminded himself that she'd placed a lot of cards and personal facts out on the table to him. The least he could do was extend some type of olive branch to her as well.

"You know Mr. Bryce?" Hiccup asked her, now hiding his emotions behind his OJ.

"Ehhhh - "His father cringed.

"Mr. Bryce and I were in high school together - same with your father. Same graduating class."

Hiccup nodded, and his father eased a bit. "He's my favorite teacher."

Valka smiled.

Silenced washed through them - but it wasn't a calming silence. It was very uncomfortable. Hiccup needed to extend another olive branch. He should have expected some uneasiness - more uneasiness - when he'd asked for more time from his father.

"Eh - " Outside of Astrid, what more could he have offered her to talk about? He didn't live a very exciting life. Outside of going to school, writing, drawing, and what was his running and track, and his hikes - what else could he offer her to talk about?

"What kind of music do you like?" his mother asked him.

Praise, Thor. She took the pressure off.

"I listen to a lot of piano and violin when I sketch."

"Ah," she said with a smile. "Do you like classics or do you like some of the newest songs? Like - I like to listen to John Legion 'All of Me' when I listen to just violin and piano."

Hiccup narrowed his eyes at her. She - understood. Outside of Astrid she understood - or at least seemed to understand what he listened to. Snotlout had caught him at lunch one day listening to a playlist. He'd taken it out of Hiccup's ear and made a snarky comment about assuming Hiccup was listening to something "uncool." It wasn't something Snotlout would have listened to.

"When I don't want to listen to words - that's what I listen to." She smiled. "Even some Disney movies with just the orchestra..." She trailed off a bit.

"Val - " his father took her to his attention. "Can I ask you something?" She nodded. "Did you have any more children?"

Wow - Hiccup felt his chest cave again.

She shook her head sadly. "No - wasn't trying. And, you know how hard it was for me to have Hiccup."

Mr. Vast nodded. "Are you - do you have anyone in your life?"

She sighed. "I did. But - it didn't work out." She shrugged. "It's been a while. Not really looking either."

Mr. Vast nodded.

She wasn't going to return the question. Hiccup assumed she knew of Katherine considering she admitted to having a private investigator. Perhaps asking if someone was in his father's life, again although she probably knew the answer, may have upset her hearing it directly from him. Or, perhaps she wasn't going to be nosey into that business.

All things considering, Hiccup reminded himself, again, that she had branched some personal things out there. Of course, she honestly couldn't really hide them. She knew what had caused the relationship to end - the relationship with her little family. Yet, here they were sitting on the porch drinking early morning drinks and talking. Admittedly, the atmosphere was continuing to get more uncomfortable.

Hiccup remembered Astrid again, and instinctively pulled his phone from his pocket. He hadn't thought to look at it for a while. But, he was sure Astrid was going to be wondering where he was. He hadn't talked to her at all. Sure enough, at seven-twenty-two, just an hour ago she'd text him.

7:22 AM - Where are you?

He instantly felt bad for not thinking of texting her sooner. Without replying, he pushed the phone back into his pocket and his eyes met his father's.

"Astrid wondering why you haven't turned up at the school?" Mr. Vast asked.

Hiccup gave a low nod. "Yeah."

Valka didn't push further for answers about Astrid.

"So, Hiccup," Valka said, breaking the silence. "I am curious. Can you explain to me how a prosthetic works? I mean - we've had a few dogs referred to a specialist at the clinic I work for. But, outside of bandaging their wounds and hearing the vet refer them over - I don't know much about the subject. I am rather curious if you wouldn't mind."

Hiccup felt his father's eyes wonder his way to make sure he was all right. Luckily, he felt okay to continue to explain. His father fetched both prosthetics, his oldest one and the new one that had just snapped. Hiccup explained each piece and what they did and how the attachment held to his body, creating a suction.

"...Since I sit a lot in class, I can keep it on longer most days. But, if I get out and about and do too much walking on it, I've got to give the leg a rest..."

"May I?" his mother asked, sliding closer and outstretching a hand towards his leg. He'd just taken off the current prosthetic showing her how it worked. He handed it over to her so she could touch it and study it. Surprisingly, she sat down on the ground at his level. "Would you mind if - " She gestured to his leg. Hiccup debated for a moment, then agreed and allowed her to slide the leg into place, suction it on and study it. "Very interesting."

Mr. Vast gave a warm chuckle. "I ended up enrolling Hiccup into a welding class last summer - mainly to get him out of the house. He ended up reconstructing a leg for his final project."

Hiccup smiled. "It was a really, really good class. Kind of reinforced my interest in taking up engineering in college."

Valka smiled. "You want to go to college?"

Hiccup nodded in response. "Yes - at some point."

"What college would you like to go to?"

Hiccup shrugged. "Not sure, really. We won't start college visits until next school year."

"You haven't given it any thought at all?" she pushed.

Hiccup shook his head.

"Eh, Val. Hiccup's been more focused on therapy and his school studies since the accident," his father said. "We were hoping to get him back on the track team - But with his set-backs with the prosthetic - "

"I'll go," Hiccup said to them both. "I need to. And, I'm not ready to start a career after I graduate. I'll do something if that's what you are worried about."

Valka shook her head; her smile remained. "I was just curious if you'd thought about colleges. I'm actually surprised your father hasn't tried talking you into his own school."

Hiccup gave a low laugh. "I'm not gonna say Dad hasn't thrown it around a few times."

Mr. Vast chuckled. "I had a good time there. Even when we got pregnant with you, kid. I was in my peak at law school. They treated me well - can't complain. Especially on days I had to drag you to class with me."

Valka smiled. "I forgot about those days."

Hiccup was intrigued. "What do you mean?"

"There were a few times your mom couldn't get out of working at the supermarket after she had you. She was working to make ends meet while I was finishing up school. Our parents couldn't watch you - so I had to take you to a class here and there with me. You were so quiet. Usually you'd sit on my lap and draw or nap in my lap while I took notes."

"Strangely, I didn't know that."

Mr. Vast shrugged his shoulders. "It only happened a few times. But the professors were really nice when it did."

The weather was starting to get warm and Hiccup found himself growing hot. He shrugged off his jacket so that he could breathe better. When he did, he noticed his mother's eyes connecting with the red line down his arm. She looked horrified. Hiccup scrambled to cover it up from her but he knew it was no use. She'd seen it.

"I'm accident prone," he said with a shrug.

He heard his father sigh a bit. "That you are, kid."

"Looks fresh," his mother commented, only drawing a little close to see some of the staple marks surrounding the line."

"I did it just a few months back," he responded. "Gave dad a fright."

"Almost as bad as when you busted your leg up. Although, when you fell off the roof I never expected we'd be spending a lot more time at the hospital or in and out of doctors offices. I thought we'd take a small ambulance ride, they'd confirm you didn't give yourself a spinal injury and they'd shove you in a cast." His father's eyes became somewhat sad. "That - that was done when - " He paused.

Valka didn't press. She simply studied it a moment more, then sat back a bit, her legs drawn up to her like a toddler excited about story time.

"Couple months back - There was an accident in front of the house..." Hiccup began. "...When I had reached my arm into the broken window to get to Astrid, I cut myself. Didn't realize it for a little bit. I ended up at the hospital for a bit. Scar remains."

"This was the accident Astrid had with Snotlout?" Valka said.

Mr. Vast and Hiccup's eyes widened. Hiccup had left that part of the story out - that it had actually involved Snotlout.

"I know about the accident. Spitelout told me about it when I'd asked what happened to the truck in the driveway. He's still working on it here and there."

"So - then you know about Astrid?" Hiccup asked.

Valka gave him a small smile. "I do. She's a pretty thing, isn't she?"

Hiccup blushed a bit. "Yeah - I think she is."

"I heard she's pretty kind, too. From Snotlout. I'm sure she's just like Darcy - "

Hiccup gave a low snort. "Darcy - Mrs. Hofferson - let's just say she is not my biggest fan."

Valka's face became a little sad. "I know she's taking care of her mom as of late."

Hiccup nodded. "She's just not used to Astrid being with someone."

Valka nodded. "I get that. It's hard to fathom you used to be that little boy who loved to dig in the dirt, play with bugs, and played hide and go seek for hours in the backyard all those years ago. Now - you are a young man. It's almost like stepping into the twilight zone for me."

Hiccup bit the inside of his lip.

"Hiccup - that is my fault. That is something I have to live with the rest of my life," Valka said quietly. "I did this to our family. Not you, not your dad." The words seem to have been dying to spill out when she said them finally. Silenced passed between them again.

"Val, maybe it's time we take a break, get some distance to process?" Mr. Vast said to break the silence. "At least - give Hiccup a break - "

"I'm okay," Hiccup said. He honestly could use a break to deal with what was in front of him. Time to talk to Astrid, time to ponder. Time to talk to his dad.

Just then, Hiccup glanced towards the street and became suddenly alarmed when he saw Katherine's orange Subaru pulling up behind where his father's car was parked. Seriously! Not a good time.

"Uh - " Hiccup made eye contact with his dad, then nudged his head towards the street. His father nearly spit out the coffee in his mouth. Panic showed.

"Val - excuse me for a moment - " Mr. Vast then retreated towards the street, rushing to the passenger side of Katherine's car.

"Katherine - " Valka said quietly.

Hiccup wasn't surprised to hear her say Katherine's name. After all, with the private investigator out there she should have known a lot about what was going on with their family - especially since her attorney had been so crafty with trying to get one of his father's employees to spill some beans onto him.

"I should go," Valka said, starting to get to her feet.

"No, wait!" Hiccup said. He didn't want her standing. He didn't want Katherine to see her there with them. He was sure his father was explaining the situation to her, but the thought of his mother being on the porch - he wondered if Katherine would be hurt or upset.

"Hiccup - I should really be going. I've over-stayed. And - your dad is right. You probably do need a break. I know I do." Hiccup saw some sadness flow through her for a moment, but then she smiled. "I didn't think I would get the chance to talk to you at all. I'd lost all hope. I am glad I had this opportunity." She pulled from her purse a pen and ripped off a piece of paper from a small notepad in her purse. She wrote on it, then extended it over to Hiccup, clicking her pen back as she did so. "Just in case - you want to reach out to me. If you don't, I understand."

Hiccup reached for the piece of paper, but before his mother could turn to leave, he grabbed her wrist, stopping her from going. Their eyes met, and he saw the tears wondering their way back to the corners of her eyes. She was fighting them again.

"You aren't - you aren't leaving town for real, are you?" he asked.

She looked at him, her heart sinking slightly. She pulled his hand from her arm, and squeezed it with her own. "I should go. I should head home and get back to my life - stop watching you and messing with your's -"

"Mom, stop!" Hiccup said loudly before she could pull away more. The first word shocked him just as much as it shocked his mother. The word "mom" had rolled smoothly from his mouth. "I - I want you to stay in town, if you can. Just a few days longer, please. I - I know it is a lot to ask. And, Dad's right. I think we all need some time to process everything." He paused. "A couple months of therapy on my own has taught me that." Valka seemed surprised he'd admitted it. "After my accident, I really, really needed help myself."

"So - you understand the struggle in some form that I had?"

"Yes," he breathed. "But, please. Don't leave town just yet. I'm not ready to say goodbye yet."

She gave his hand a little squeeze. "Okay. I'll go - get a hotel, then. And, when you are ready to sit down and talk again I'll be here. I've got a few days."

"Promise?" His voice was pleading.

"I promise, sweetheart."

...

**I struggled a little bit with this chapter.**

**So - I hinted a while back about writing this and relaying some feelings of the characters to a past experience I had. I was vague and not exactly ready to talk about that just yet. Long story short - I have two siblings that I did not grow up with. We were "reunited" about ten years ago after connecting with one sibling on Myspace. We as siblings spent a few months getting to know each other - and our meetings were a lot, and I mean a LOT like this. Especially with some awkwardness around my father since that is the parent we share. Sadly - since we had grown up without each other we didn't stick together like glue like I would have liked - but the warmness in those months of talking, emailing and getting to know them still sticks. The feelings Hiccup is feeling - those were the feelings I felt meeting my siblings and talking to them. Every situation is different - not one realistic story is the same so I want to point that out there.**

**For those of you who have been reading this and sticking through this the past few months - thank you. During times of stress and insomnia, writing helps me. A few years ago it took a lot for me to open up and let someone read what I write - even with Fanfiction. My husband doesn't really even know what I write about - he just knows I write. So, thank you again for sticking with me and reading.**


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